Dead Beat
by suspensewriter
Summary: In revision, The Old Centre has fallen and a New one stands in its place, Jarod and Miss Parker are raising their kids and are now Bounty Hunters going after a Deadbeat dad. Revised up to Chapter 24, rest will follow.
1. Mr Georges

The Pretender and the characters in it are under copyright Enough said.

This takes place after the fall of the Present Centre and what occupations Jarod and Miss Parker would take. You thought Miss Parker would go into childcare and Jarod become a psychiatrist specializing in children who were the victims of abuse, right? Or maybe he would be a killer for hire? Well Jarod on the Island of the Haunted referred to Miss Parker as the Centre bounty hunter and Jarod did some of his best pretends as a detective, working under cover, etc. So why not go a step further and make them do something they are both good at?

This story takes place before the Iraqi invasion, so if anyone points out something, that is why. It starts first in Africa, the headquarters of the Triumvirate.

DEAD BEAT

December 26 – 27, 2001

CHAPTER ONE

It was the story of a lifetime. Going to Africa, talking with that Mumboto or whoever he was (it being rather difficult to get those Zulu names right) and finding about the Triumvirate — well not anymore because Mumboto and the others were dead.

After learning about that incident on that Island, MacLean returned to Africa to talk to the new head of the Triumvirate who was coping with his diminished staff. A limousine picked MacLean up at the airport and drove him through the African countryside of small villages and old-fashioned water pumps. The standard uniform seemed to be khaki shorts for men and long dresses for women who covered their hair with colorful bandannas. They spoke English, Afrikaans, and their own language. His host's residence was a large mansion surrounded by an electrified fence and an iron gate. Several packs of dogs roamed the area as well as a pet lion kept close to starvation. If that were not enough, his host also had six armed guards who were expert shots.

His host introduced himself as Mr. Georges. He was a broad dark man, with the noble bearing of an Aristocratic Zulu.

He gave him a song and dance about no one wanting to join as someone had put a _mojo_ on the organization as if a silly spell from a witch doctor could stop the Triumvirate.

"Naturally we were disappointed at not getting the scrolls. Mr. Parker said that Jarod killed my associates, but I find that hard to believe. It's not his style," said Georges, his black eyes swimming in the glass of sherry.

"So I gather this Jarod disappeared."

"Not for long," said Georges, "Lamech Parkers, the father of Abel Raines and Me. Parker wanted to keep track of their Pretenders. They have a gene in them, makes them different." He arose from his seat and went over to his desk where he took out a microscope and placed it on the top. In a minute, he inserted a slide underneath it. "I'll adjust the magnification."

To MacLean, the object looked something like a cross between a bar code and what they placed in dogs. It contained a series of numbers and letters plus the code for DNA. "Whose is it? Jarod's?"

"This was taken from one of those rescued by Catherine Parker, after his death, of course."

"What are the numbers and letters? Date of birth or acquisition by the Centre?"

"Neither," he said as he took out a pen. "This was made in Japan, series box A43512e, model E200. They all have them inserted into there at birth or shortly after." He pointed to a part of MacLean's skull. "Then they're sent home with their parents or guardians and the Centre retrieves them later."

"Why?"

"Because they're property of the Centre. Don't be surprised Mr. MacLean. Here in Africa we've had the same system for centuries and even those who worked in Caesar's household never were free. Think of the Centre as a type of Caesar."

MacLean was shocked. Here was Georges speaking casually about people owning others in the same manner as he discussed his horse and Rolls Royce. He hoped this Jarod was free of them, but Georges's face told a different story. "You said he was away until now. What do you mean? Did they kill him?"

"They kept part of his DNA to create other Pretenders, but decided that cloning too many Jarods would not be feasible. You heard of the Dolly incident, haven't you? Clones are less healthy, and for some reason get the full blast of the inherited conditions. Your family, for example, has a high stroke factor, but you were born lucky. If someone were to clone you, your clone would get a stroke about your age or sooner. Same with someone who had a mother with diabetes, and did not have it, her clone would get the disease even though both were careful in their diets."

"I get the picture."

"First when he had wet dreams and then — I believe there was a VD epidemic and everyone had to be tested. Created a few more Pretenders that way as well as the usual manner of which Jarod was unaware until recently, but we won't speak of it. We had to destroy most of them and try another way. I believe Miss Parker assisted in that case. They're dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"That gene makes them more vicious and intelligent unless controlled by a certain chemical substance inserted into their food and drink. However, Jarod's escape meant the Centre could no longer monitor him, the effects wore off, and Miss Parker deemed not to replenish it."

"She has him?"

Georges spread his hands wide. "In every sense of the word. Mr. Parker gave him to her as a present. Do you want to see what she did when she retrieved him? Why we thought she would kill him, or render him inoperable, but Mr. Raines and Mr. Lyle, our loyal employees, decided to teach Jarod a lesson in humiliation."

MacLean saw something, the lowering of Georges's jaw. It appeared the humiliation did not work. "What went wrong?"

"By isolating Jarod in the Centre and keeping him from learning about human behavior even from certain films, he thought his treatment was normal. Now he does not protest when Miss Parker demands and gets in that certain position so that she —" Att this Georges snickered — "and since the Centre has been taken away from us, along with the Parkers, we want to know why."

Georges showed MacLean a video showing Miss Parker and Jarod in a compromising position, putting it mildly, it being the humiliation which did not work. MacLean could see why. The face of the Pretender did not show any shame, anger, or passive acceptance, just normal. Why, Jarod was even asking Miss Parker if she would get on him again as if she was giving him a Christmas present.

MacLean did not want to spend another night in the house of that odious man, and certainly no longer in this country where there was no snow in December, and the sound of bells of the Christmas season seemed rather unnatural ringing in hot summer heat. Besides, he missed home so he first telephoned the Edinburgh office, saying that he would send his interview by wire, and then went to the embassy to get a working visa to the United States.

After spending the night in the hotel nearby, he was off the next morning bound for Delaware.


	2. Introduction to the Family

CHAPTER Two

Dec 29-30 2001

Blue Cove did not appear on any map. It was just a group of houses, buildings, and stores growing haphazardly up from the highway, no doubt, a farm where the family just stayed together, each one making a house besides the other, and then graduating into shops and offices. The predominant building was the Centre, a supposed think tank run by the Parkers.

Now when MacLean entered Blue Cove two evenings after his departure from South Africa, he saw it did look like a town. Whoever the original farmer was, he was a man of order. He saw houses with gardens, most in the old New English style, a few modern ones, and all with the Direct TV and Dishes on top of them and a few having the large Satellite dishes as well.

MacLean looked at the map. Miss Parker's house was down the next street, and across it from the back was a newly constructed house (in the last three years) of a lawyer who moved into the town. _The lawyer's house must be the one with the large stone fence and grass covered slope. _

It was around seven pm and as he drove up, he saw the lights of Miss Parker's on before the car stopped. That was puzzling for another car had sped by, and the lights did not go on. It was as if the inhabitants were expecting him and MacLean wanted it to be a surprise.

He climbed up the steps, remembering that when he saw the photograph of Blue Cove, the steps were not as steep and the basement windows were closer to the ground. The man opening the door was a stranger. He said he was Mr. Lambourni and was looking after the children until Lady Angela and Jarod returned.

"Lady Angela? I was expecting to see a Miss Parker."

"One and the same." He turned around and talked to someone in the background. "You will not use your mother's lipstick. Constance, see about Patricia."

"Yes father."

The girl was about twelve, but her eyes were older and wiser and not in the experienced prostitute type of way. She looked at MacLean like a cat eying a bird, and he felt a cold chill in his heart and then she went in the bedroom, talking to the unseen Patricia in a calm voice. "You must not use that Patricia. You are too young."

The appearance of the house, although probably constructed a century or so earlier, seemed to having gone through a major renovations, it now having an extension on the back and the sides along with new doors, a new carpet on the floor, and wallpaper repaired or replaced, although still keeping with the general old century feel. MacLean could that someone had added a nursery and as well as added an extra bedroom plus a bathroom, thus changing the general cottage setup of a two bedroom house room to a three bedroom one complete with hall, extra bathroom, nursery, and an enlarged major bedroom complete with insuite.

The reporter sat on the sofa, talking to Mr. Lambourni who was too charming and with a predatory feel about him. Oh, it was not like that of the psychopath that MacLean had interviewed. That man was suave, a born hypocrite, but Mr. Lambourni seemed to be on a higher plane.

"And then the client confesses," Lambourni said, "I used a brilliant defense, but he blew it. Said he did use too much water in the concrete mixture and he'll pay one million dollars to the families."

"I guess that hurt."

"It did. Good thing, I'm not a criminal lawyer yet, so McCoy can thank God for that fact. With my luck, the client will confess, shave his head, and attach the nodes to his extremities and pull the switch in the electric chair himself.

"Or get on the ladder and put the rope around his neck."

"We don't hang people nowadays, Mr. MacLean and why are you here?"

MacLean told of his travels as a reporter, how he had been in Iraq recently and seen all that Saddam had done and wondered why Bush hadn't removed him. He told of being in Africa, leaning back, talking about Georges, being a strange man with … He tried to remove the arm around his neck but couldn't and Mr. Lambourni had a revolver pointing at him and a slim brunette woman came in through the front door, also with a revolver and she looked deadly.

"What's this about Mr. Georges?" she asked.

"Miss Parker?" asked MacLean, after she motioned to the one behind the sofa. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"But you will. Why did he send you here? You are a reporter aren't you?" The arm squeezed a little harder. "Be quick with your answers. He can snap your neck like that."

"Okay Mr. Georges wanted to know how Jarod's reaction was not what he expected after the—"

"Assault?" said the man behind, now loosening his grip and walking in front. He H He was tall with long dark hair and brown eyes, had a camera, a bag, and wore a pair of dark navy blue trousers, a light blue shirt, socks, and shoes. He also had on a jacket and the bulge in it was not his wallet. "We don't have the emotions. Something about the DNA, what you gain in intelligence you lose in, isn't that the story?"

MacLean told them about the interview where he learned that the former Triumvirate was no more.

"Jarod's the member of a New Species, called Homo Dominants," said Miss Parker.

"Are you talking about the ones that a Walter Attwood announced on TV?"

"Yes, they don't have our emotions, but they can sense things, pick up our heat waves or aura, I guess and are stronger and more vicious than us. They came about as an experiment near the end of the Second World War to create a foil to the Nazi Aryan race plan. Have you heard of the Hercules Project?"

"I did. Wasn't it a failure?"

"No. Arranging unions between certain men and women, making sure only the strongest and slowest sperm fertilized the eggs and eliminating the faster damaged sperm. Do you know that they are not intended to fertilize the egg but to keep these slower ones from reaching it?"

"I gather when the strong slow swimmers entered the egg, the baby was born Homo Dominant. What other characteristics?"

"The girls have four uteruses, and have babies as young as eight or nine, all of them, not just a few. The boys can produce fertile sperm at nine or ten and I told you about their heightened senses."

"But they are human beings."

"Do you mean homo sapiens, no? Lambourni could explain it. He's one as well. They do not have the personality or the emotional level we have. The Centre took advantage of that. It was not like the Negroes back in the nineteenth century who are homo sapiens nor the Jews in the twentieth century under Hitler."

MacLean listened to Lambourni's rather detailed explanation which included, "When a homo sapien, well married a Neanderthal, the latter's DNA was destroyed. However the physical characteristics remained. If you want to go to the Bible, Adam, the beginning of all humanoids on earth, ergo the human race containing the seeds of all branches of humanoids, which is different from humanity, the latter meaning homo sapiens."

It took MacLean five minutes to figure this out and he did not want to get into a long discourse with the lawyer, knowing he would lose so he changed the subject. "One of my relatives back in the nineteenth century was a Monk and he wrote about a boy called Jarod saving The Centre. That's one of the reasons I asked to be put on the assignment to find if there was such a place. I've been all over the world, exploring various cults, para military organizations, and think tanks until I found there was this place in Delaware, a think tank which had an extra ordinary sense of success in the negative way. I also took notes from an inside source mentioning a Jarod or Jarred, and a Geraldo and that boy is?"

"Jeremiah," said Miss Parker, "our son."

"In veracity, a man and two boys with similar names, Jarod, Jeremiah, and my son Geraldo," said Lambourni who gave a detailed explanation and proved that you could not exactly take at face value anything found on a scroll intended to give great power but at a terrible price. It appeared that legends and prophecies not of the God type often could be interpreted in many ways.

The one behind the couch was Jarod, the one with the camera bag, the second, a toddler also called Jarod but renamed Jeremiah had been rescued from the subterranean depth of the Centre, implanted in the womb of a Brigitte a former cleaner (or executioner) later married to Mr. Parker, and was first assumed to be pregnant by him. That child was really Jarod's and Miss Parker's. Although Mr. Parker had named the toddler Jarod, Miss Parker explained that she changed his name to Jeremiah, keeping secret her fear that she hoped the child would not grow to be a mountain man with a beard while Jarod hoped he would not lead a bunch of rag tag survivalists of a limited plague that only attacked adults

The third candidate for the illustrious position was the one who really saved the Centre, Geraldo, Lambourni's son. MacLean looked at his photo, a boy of eight years old, who looked a bit like his father probably did when younger except the boy's hair was more redder. According to his father, Geraldo went on a campaign to destroy every effigy of the demon to whom the Parkers gave homage and what caused the original Parker to kill his original family and perpetuate a curse that caused the family to do evil to others in return for great power, position, and knowledge that man should not know.

"Kept us drugged sort of like the Stepford Wives," said Jarod and Miss Parker shot him a look and continued.

"I've been renting several DVDS; they kept Jarod from learning about movies. One of the henchmen said that he belonged to the Centre and something click, realization. He escaped along with another Pretender. I've been chasing Jarod for years, and when I caught him I made sure he knew what he was." She showed MacLean the bill of sale. "You have to take possession of your property. I gather that's what the Triumvirate wanted to see whether it was faked. It wasn't. I have to get the children something to eat." She walked into the kitchen.

Jarod still did not trust MacLean, but he told him about Frederick and Margaret, who unlike his second oldest was not made into Pretenders, that is, Raines did not insert an identification chip/bar code into their skull at birth. "I had no idea of how they came about."

"Surely you should know."

"I do know now, but then the Centre wiped my memory of the events. I was the property of the Centre and unlike Miss Parker, they kept all information about reproductive and sexual intercourse from me so when Mr. Parker put Miss Parker on me, I had no reference point to associate with."

Jarod told MacLean of the promise Miss Parker exacted from Raines, using her mother's Bible to make him promise to raise any child she would have as Parkers. He told how he was chained, stretched out and they (there was a nurse as well) brought a dazed Miss Parker in, lifted her dress, straddled her legs below his waist. They repeated this rape a couple of years later. The Centre then took charge of the children's education, hiring the best tutors, giving them the best of food and clothes, treating them like royalty, until they figured out the Centre for themselves.

"How did they escape?" asked MacLean, stating the obvious.

"By pretending to be nice, they got close and broke the guards' necks. Took the keys, and got out," said Miss Parker leading the children out to the living room. She gave them to Jarod who showed them how to construct a Lego city and told MacLean how the Centre found Lambourni.

"Daddy advertised in the papers read by the criminal underworld for someone born July on a certain date in a certain year to work for an esteemed organization. However, not all took the hint, so he sent out his goons to kidnap the remainder, including Antonio Lambourni and that's when the trouble started," said Miss Parker.

"What has Lambourni to do with you?"

"He's my son and Jarod's. When we were very young, we were playing doctor and got carried away. My parents never told me anything and I know they kept that stuff secret from him as well. The Parkers have a curse and until we were in the Church and had the curse removed, any child we had would have the curse as well."

"How did you find that Lambourni's your son?"

"He told us," said Miss Parker, "when the Father lifted the curse, he must have started to act different, not being so unpredictable. Oh we were at the Church going through the Official Joining."

_Must be a Dominant term_, thought MacLean looking at Jarod.

"Oh the Official Joining is a legal Dominant marriage ceremony. Actually there's three, depending on the rank or lack of one or both of the partners, but if you want more details, you could ask Lewison, a Mentor and married to my daughter."

"Mentor means teacher, I gather. I'll think about it." MacLean did not want to see this Lewison, at least not at this hour. He had heard stories of these Dominants, another reporter had been killed in California investigating the new species some years back, but MacLean was not interested in them, at least not yet. He had come for another purpose to find out if Miss Parker treated Jarod, as a sex slave and why the Pretender did not feel degraded, so he told them of Georges having some girls all dressed in well nothing at all.

"Their native costume?" asked Jarod.

"No, The men wore shirts and pants, the women sort of a wrap around dress, and some had cotton dresses, most a little out of style, twenty to thirty years ago. When they went native, the girls went bare breasted, but all wore skirts and the men wore the typical Zulu costumes. Georges forced those girls to have sex with him."

Jarod grew silent for a moment and Miss Parker started to feel a little nervous, but recovered.

"I can kill Jarod if he doesn't do anything I want, but I don't want someone like Georges coming in and gaping besides Jarod doesn't want it either." She put her revolver back in her purse. "They even bred Jarod with a Pretender girl, no memory of course, rather distasteful stuff. Tried to starve the baby to death, used Jarod to do it. They put him on the mother, they made him; they had a gun to his back." She thought it best not to go into details. "When you go to bed, keep your doors closed and don't start wandering around"

"I'll try." He had a rather restless sleep, dreaming of black girls dancing naked and Georges pouring blood over them. There was a unicorn in the room as well, and when Georges poured the blood over the girls, the unicorn dropped dead and faded away.

His dream now switched to Jarod and Miss Parker, about that video he saw. They were in a large room with a large box with a ribbon leaning against the wall and Jarod saying, "You know the store's policy. It was a sale. No returns."

MacLean woke up for a moment and then went back to sleep, this time dreaming of his mother's flat and saying that he had the story of a lifetime. Then the dream took a strange turn with him walking over a bridge covered with so many children's books. Just as he picked one up, two men would come up, one carrying a camera, the other a notebook and they would say, "That's my book you can't have it."

His dreams were so disturbing, MacLean decided that going for a drink would be better than that warning Miss Parker gave him. Besides when he saw that video of Jarod being whipped, trying to escape, and asked that question whether the Pretender had been stolen, he knew, although he would not admit it, the truth. He also knew that Miss Parker had been chasing the Pretender for so long that when she got him, no matter how much she felt for him, she would make him pay for those years of pursuit.

He passed the children's room; they were sleeping, curled up in rather strange positions, clutching some toys. The kitchen was just past the main bedroom, and MacLean hoped that both Miss Parker and Jarod were under the covers, but he knew he would not find that and he was right. They must have finished making love, for Jarod was partly on top of her and the top cover was on the bottom the event must have been spectacular. Then he awoke and turned his head to look at MacLean. For a moment MacLean thought he was looking in the eyes of a predator, and then he said, "sorry," closed the door, and left.

He took a glass from the cupboard in the kitchen, poured himself some water, and then went back to bed. Reading about slavery was not the same as real life, learning that once one went into bondage, one lost all privacy, and in most cases all self respect, unless one was a Dominant with a low emotional level, which the Centre had taken advantage with when they captured all those Pretenders.


	3. The Mornng of New Year's Eve

CHAPTER THREE

Dec. 31, 2001

At six o'clock in the morning, MacLean smelling frying, leisurely went out to the kitchen, believing he was the only one awake, but Jarod was already there, with a teapot out, some raisin scones, the kettle boiling, a bowl of a mixture of yeast dough and raisins, the deep fryer already heating as well as the table set. MacLean wondered why the Pretender was so fast. MacLean guessed it was because he was of the New Species.

"There's some bacon in the 'fridge," he told the reporter as he got a frying pan from the cupboard, and four small bowls, "So what are you going to blab to Georges?"

"I heard you were different before."

"I was given a certain drug which we call Neogeneis. Correct name is Neogenesis Two. I had better explain to you about the Centre, they attract flies of a certain sort. Oh and don't touch the lap top. We're working on a case." He took some eggs from the refrigerator and scrambled them.

By this time, Miss Parker came in, yawning, with four little babies toddling behind her. MacLean was aghast. The children should not have been attempting to walk at their stage in life, but here they were falling, getting up, and holding onto their mother's skirt. When he was interviewing Georges, the Centre had just fallen and they would have been less than four months old. Here they were toddling around like one year olds.

She put the children in four high chairs, opened some fruit from a plastic container, and put it in the four bowls, besides the scrambled eggs and torn up scones. The children even acted as two year olds, and fortunately, Jarod had put a sheet under the high chairs.

"They are quite advanced," said MacLean.

"Dominants have a very short childhood," Miss Parker said. She smiled, talking to the children. "If you eat properly, you can all watch Blues."

In response, she got four responses that were appropriate for one year olds. "Yah wat." "Mr. Boo," "Funny Blue," and "Like Boo Bloo. Mummy like?"

The children stopped throwing their food on the floor and finished their breakfast, albeit being rather clumsy about it.

Meanwhile Miss Parker went over to Jarod, rumpled his hair, and fondled him. He did not protest, and MacLean gathered that it was more to show Jarod's lack of social standing rather than Miss Parker's affection. She did not kiss the Pretender nor permitted him to do so in return, but Jarod pressed his hand against her neck, pushing the side of her face into the side of his face while stroking her check with his other hand. A few moments later, she finished, washed her hands, and Jarod took the laptop, and plugged it in to the wall, working while eating his bacon, eggs, and scones after Miss Parker did the usual Roman Catholic thing of crossing herself and saying the customary grace. Whether it was out of habit or new-found devotion after her release from the curse, MacLean could not say. He rather suspected it was because they now had children.

"What are you working on?" asked the reporter.

"We have to go to California in the New Year," said Jarod as he got a washcloth to wipe the childrens's faces and after that, putting them down on the floor.

"I thought you came from there," said MacLean avoid getting bumped by a baby girl with golden curls who shied away when he tried to pick her up.

Miss Parker seeing the light flash over near the fryer, took several spoonfuls of the raisin dough, dropped them in the oil, and returned to the table, after checking to see if the oven was on warm. "No, that was Lambourni," she said as MacLean sniffed the fritters, a smile on his lips. "We're making a New Years Dutch recipe. Major Charles told us that his father was Dutch. It's my first attempt. The others are in the garbage."

"I heard about Mr. Parker going to California as well," said the reporter, "I was thinking of interviewing him, but I heard he died."

"Lambourni felt someone had to pay for his house burning down, his home in New Jersey. He got the Centre to build a house here but at that time, he did not know what happened to his old house until we told him. They killed Raines and Mr. Lyle, but since Mr. Parker never actually partook in the dirty stuff, he decided to hit him where it hurts, in his pocketbook, although I have no idea what that means," said Jarod.

"It means what it says Jarod," said Miss Parker as she put the dishes in the dishwasher and kept a close eye on the toddlers who were very intrigued with MacLean's camera, "the pocketbook is another name for wallet. They made him pay through the nose, and stopped sneering."

"Okay, but I was just imagining Judge Judy or Judge Joe Brown or whoever it is standing over Mr. Parker and watching thousand dollar bills coming out of his nose."

Miss Parker stood over the fryer, splitting her sides with laughter until she recovered and said to MacLean, "While Lambourni was there, since some in the government asked him to help in the case of over two hundred people dying or disappearing, but more so about the two percent that did not officially exist."

"Because of Walter Attwood, a few members of the government and the police force can distinguish a Dominant from a Sapien and because of that, they are allowed to take blood samples," said Jarod, "but they cannot use that information to convict them of any crime if no crime were committed. Now they have to put all these unknowns on file, back track to their place of birth, and manufacture citizenships or identities for them. That took a couple of hours."

MacLean's face expressed surprise. "Surely it would have taken at least six months to a year with all the regulations. I can understand the two percent, but what about the rest of the survivors. Surely the government would notice someone with a different name than most, being stronger and more resilient." He made a grab for his camera, leaving four little disappointed faces behind.

"Most could point to an ancestor in Europe someplace. The Hercules Project recruited those who had been in an area for sometime to get the typical physical, psychological, and speech patterns of that area and many of their forefathers had the common names used in that particular region. This assured that had they come to some harm, they could refer to a great uncle somewhere over there with records of their grandparents's or great grand parents's. However if any records of their existence or any legal documents were destroyed, they would be helpless. That is why The Centre destroyed the birth and marriage records of my grandparents and possibly those of the great grandparents and great-great grandparents of those here."

MacLean got the idea. The Centre had not only enslaved the Dominants, it made them criminals. He asked, "Were the children named after members of Miss Parker's family or yours?"

"Patricia's named after a great aunt, the others, she picked out of several baby name books."

By now the children were moving a chair over to the counter, and attempting to reach the knife block which their parents quickly shoved out of reach.

"It's different with us or me," said Jarod, "I don't know my last name, and since the Dominants take the rank of the father, my children were born like me, owned by my owner, that is Miss Parker. However, when they are free, they can take the first name or nickname of the mother and add a vowel or suffix to it." He picked up a copy of the Dominant book after giving his children some toys to play with and handed it to MacLean, and pointed out the appropriate chapters. "Shortly after their birth, she had them Raised."

"Raised? By whom?"

"It is the Dominant term for granting freedom or manumitting and usually the cost is depended on how valuable their father was and is done shortly after birth because once a child starts working, it can become quite costly, sometimes over ten thousand dollars depending on the occupation I was supposedly working at in the Centre. I never got paid and I'm sure she would have had to fork over a billion dollars for me and I'm worth at least that." He ignored Miss Parker's snicker.

"But don't you mind what she's making you do?"

Jarod took some bacon from the pan, after cleaning up the rest of the eggs from the fridge, mixed them together, and ate them. "You don't understand anything. Whether I like it or hate it doesn't matter. I have no choice and if you're planning to write an article in some trashy weekend paper, you better tell them that if I don't do what Miss Parker wants, she has the perfect right to kill me after the appropriate long and painful torture, of course."

MacLean felt he was the child scolded for not understanding. He was going to keep silent about what he learned before he left Georges's compound when he spotted the man's passport, a few travel magazines, plus a notice to the local bank on the Zulu's hand crafted table. The map under one of the magazines was an enlarged copy of Blue Cove, Delaware and an X right where Miss Parker's house would be. The time of arrival marked on the torn off paper from a Day-timer was the Centre airport just out of Blue Cove, 12: 15 am and the reporter recalled Georges's snicker when viewing that video. Jarod might have to do what Miss Parker wanted, but he certainly did not have to accept Georges' perverted desire to watch the goings on.

"I think Georges's is on his way here and I suspect he'd come when you're both in bed and…"

"We'll get Lambourni over, but he's going to THAT Church, and he has the whole family going as well or we could get the children to attack him," she said with an evil smile.

"We couldn't be that cruel, even to a man like Mr. Georges. Now what about Lewison?" asked Jarod. "We can have him over in a few minutes, pretend that we already invited him for New Years. He can kill him or if you want, I will." He had ferocity about him more akin to a predator than a normal human being.

"Bright idea, but I figure Georges would make sure you never get a chance. Lewison will take care of Georges permanently as well as destroy the rest of those tapes. Besides he's a teacher and no one would suspect him. Jarod, get Lewison on the cell phone and explain it all to him."

"Okay." He left his lap top and picked up the cell phone, dialing Lewison's and explaining in detail about what Georges would see them do. MacLean grew red in the face. Jarod concluded with, "and don't forget the wine. We've already made the desert which we'll have afterwards," then turned off the cell phone and handed it back to Miss Parker. "Mr. Georges won't bother us anymore."

"I guess not. Did you have to go into everything we did?"

"It's what we always do, oh except when trying for conception, but since the next children are already growing in your womb and the chance of miscarriage, taken the proper precautions are slim to none"

"Lewison will know when to strike before the hanky panky."

MacLean poured himself a cup of coffee and read an article that Miss Parker gave him on the effects of Neogenesis, and shivered. He now knew the drug had turned Jarod into someone who could not fight back even though he protested—a perfect victim. It was ironic. Jarod felt he was fighting against the Centre, escaping from them, but until the drugs were out his system, he was a puppet, drawn back whenever Sydney needed help, but he had changed since then, now being willing to kill where before he balked at the idea. He had changed from the prey to the hunter.

From looking at the travel times from the Internet, James knew that Georges would be on a commercial flight, using a different name. He would then rent or buy a private airplane, and make sure it landed on the airstrip owned by the Centre, and drive towards Blue Cove, arriving at about one am, in time to get to Miss Parker's and see the 'hanky panky' going on and since Jarod had no rights, Georges could demand to watch.

However, the Zulu had not counted on Lewison.

After breakfast, Jarod and Miss Parker turned on the television and the children watched Mr. Blue. He then continued with his investigation while Miss Parker greeted Lewison, printing a list of the places the deadbeat dad frequented, as well as the yacht club he belonged to, the tailor he frequented, and other essential information.


	4. What Your Eyes May See May Kill You

CHAPTER FOUR

Dec 29,2001 to Jan. 1, 2002

Using the passport of a Mr. Kenneth Tanbuto of Johannesburg, Georges got off at the airport, picked his bags off from the counter, and walked out towards where his private plane was waiting. He held a look of confidence. Even though the Centre was no more and neither the Triumvirate, he knew with a little work, he could bring it back to its former power. The Parkers, except for Miss Parker, were now dead, but there was the new generation. However, until he got the scrolls back in the Centre with himself as now head, he could not influence them. The scrolls were able to do that. They had a power about them.

He walked over to the old man waiting by a Piper. "Mr. Kenneth Tanbuto. Is my plane ready? I called about it this morning."

"Yes sir. Do you have your flight plan ready?"

"Right here." Georges took out his revolver from his back pocket — it had already been equipped with a silencer — pointing it at the man's heart, put his heavy black hand over the victim's mouth and fired. Now he had to dispose of the body. He picked it up as easily as one does a roll of toilet paper, carrying it inside to the shelter, sat it on the chair, tied it behind by its arms, and holding a sharp knife in his now gloved hands, stabbed the man repeatedly. He then took a can of red paint, spraying obscenities on the wall. Now the police would be looking for some crazies. After than he calmly walked over to his plane and got on it.

By now, it was quite dark and he had equipped his plane to land quietly. Georges counted the change in his pocket. He could not risk hiring a car. Rental agencies kept records, but there were other means of getting a vehicle and then again, he had the name of Kenneth Tanbuto who would be shocked to find an unpaid bill in the mail next month. Another twenty dollars would not hurt him. Georges walked over to the Hertz Rent a Car, asking about the going rates.

"Nothing too fancy," he said, keeping his face down.

"If you look at our brochure you can see our economy rates and there is a travel discount. How long are you staying Mr. Tanbuto?"

"Just overnight, I'll be driving to New York City afterwards. Where can I leave the car?"

"Here's a list of our stopping points. It's …"

He yawned, listening to the costs per mile, the extra costs, the insurance, etc. and paid her in traveler's checks made out to the Tanbutos. His car was a Ford Pinto, small enough, and five years old. No one would look for it.

The Parker house was in darkness when he arrived. He looked at his map. The bedroom should be right over there. They had enlarged the place, now contained two stories and it had a Dish on top as well as a large Satellite dish in the backyard. According to Lyle, they now had cable modem as well as DSL, so if one failed, they could still use the other.

"That must be the lawyer's house," he said, seeing the large house with the stone partition and steep slope at the back of the Parkers. He made a mental note to see this Mr. Lambourni after he got his little entertainment. He got out the car, and walked in the yard, being careful to brush over the snow over his footprints so as not to leave any evidence.

Taking the key that Lyle had mailed to him, Georges opened the back door, walking on his bare feet, his revolver in hand, and started for the main bedroom. A lamp was on, just enough for him to see what was going on and what a sight. Miss Parker had her right hand below Jarod's waist, playing with his private parts, and her other hand rumpling his hair, while he had his arms around her, and was just about to put his right leg around her back. She was unaware of Georges as she whispered in the Pretender's ear. Georges bent over to see Jarod stare at him and then leer.

"Goodbye Georges," he said.

Georges felt someone grab his neck and then there was a snap. That was all he remembered until he woke up in hell.

Miss Parker let go of Jarod and swung around, seeing a heavy black man topple to the floor and Lewison appearing behind him.

"Close your eyes Miss Parker, this won't take a moment."

She saw a flash behind her closed eyelids and a second later, opened them. All that remained of Georges was a pile of ashes that Lewison then put in a small case. "I'll throw this in the bay. Oh and Georges no doubt registered under a different name. I'll be back after I check his car."

He came back to see Jarod and Miss Parker now with the covers pulled over them, and the former almost asleep.

"He registered under the name of a Kenneth Tanbuto. I'll arrange to have all the charges reversed. Do you know if Georges has any family?"

"You can ask the reporter," she said and nudged Jarod. "Did you get anything about Georges from the internet?"

Jarod just murmured. Miss Parker shook him again. "I said what information did you gleam about Georges?"

He yawned. "He has two brothers, both dead, and four sisters, also deceased. Oh his parents are cut from the same cloth. The suspicion is that Georges killed his siblings because his father was a hereditary Zulu chief and the others were older than he. I might add that he also took care of his nephews and nieces. Quite a piece of work this Georges."

"I presume his parents went along."

"When I read the report, I figured I was going through a little deja view, Mr. Parker, Mr. Lyle, and Mr. Raines."

"No wonder they helped the Centre. Get up, give Lewison their address."

"You're almost as good as me," said Jarod, "sending them the Tambuto bills."

"I don't know whether that's an insult or a compliment," said Miss Parker as she watched Jarod put on his slacks and shirt and then get the lap top out from the living room. "I wonder when those scars are going to disappear."

"They're cut too deep so we have to call for one of our experts. His arrival will have to coincide with his vacation, scheduled to start on the seventh of July, arrives since he works at one of your major hospitals," said Lewison.

"I guess the trip to California is out and that deadbeat gets away again," said Miss Parker

"What deadbeat?"

"Oh someone who's daughter needs an operation or her life will be short and painful."

"Ah so expediency is the utmost," said Lewison, taking a cell phone from his jacket pocket, going to the bathroom, and closing the door and even though they heard the toilet flushing and the water running, they knew that it was just to disguise the conversation.

He returned to the living room a few minutes later, informing Jarod and Miss Parker that, "The medical has arranged to trade his vacation time with a Sapien who wishes to visit his ancestral home in Alaska. He will arrive with his assistants on the fourteenth of this month and will be here for the allotted time needed. We have arranged several visits to various theatrical and dining establishments to compensate for his substitution."

"The Sapien must be going on an Alaskan cruise, unless his ancestors were Eskimos," whispered Miss Parker to Jarod who agreed.

"Now for what you have to endure, Jarod," said Lewison who was not interested in The Pretender's owner's comments. "The procedure will require the most delicate of erasure, replacing the damaged tissue and repairing the cuts on the bones. They must have used a cat of nine tails."

Miss Parker shivered.


	5. A New Start

CHAPTER FIVE

Jan 1 to Jan 14, 2002

Dr. Cox, correction, Dr. Colby, loved California. He loved that he could go outside his yard and walk to an orchard where he could pick a few oranges. The town was small and the people rather friendly.

The Marshall's Office had bought him a house (it would not look good to rent one). It was four story with double attached garage, a dish in the back, a brick diamond patterned driveway, and a white metal fence with an alarm system. It contained other amenities, a built in dishwasher and dryer, a dining room to entertain at least twelve guests, a den, a basement with a pool table, a garden, wall to-wall carpeting, and a grand piano. The Marshalls even supplied books including the Classics as well as medical stuff, and a new HDTV ready television, stereo set with a 4 changer CD player. Anyone coming in the house knew that he was a well-paid doctor. Oh and he also had his own private office That much of the money used to pay for this extravaganza came from confiscations of Drug Dealer properties, Cox or Colby knew, and that did not worry him. He had never lived this well.

He had seen a few there who, like him, were out of place, the major inhabitants being former Okies and Mexican Americans. Colby suspected that this was a frequent landing place for several in the Witness Protection Program. After the initial shock and relief that Colby was not a member of their old gang, they greeted him with a street party faintly disguised as a New Year's Celebration, which seemed odd to someone who figured that the only good place to celebrate the New Years was in Times Square.

The next day, the Marshall interviewed Colby and the other adult male member in the household, trying to find how he fit in.

A couple of years ago, the Marshall explained, someone had started an Italian restaurant, and it was doing a thriving business. As for Gino, Cox had explained that he was visiting at the time when Lyle or Raines spoke of their evil plans, Liza being his daughter. So since, the Marshall's office included a Dr. Cox, wife, children, plus father-in-law in their Witness Protection program, and that his life would be in danger if he and his family were not offered the Witness Protection program as well, it would be good that Gino contribute to the community as well. However, Liza's age gave the Marshall some concern, and Cox would have been served with a "contributing to the delinquency of a minor," except Gino pretended to speak in a Kentuckian accent which gave the agents the idea that he came from a backwoods community. Oh and he was trying to learn Italian, got the accent down pat.

The Marshalls got Gino a job in the new Italian restaurant run by another member of the Witness Protection program. In fact there were so many in the town, it was beginning to look like _My Blue Heaven_.

_Yes _thought Cox, _you figure to clean up the Italian crime community and what do you have left, the Columbians and the Russian Mafia who are ten timse worse._

This continued for two weeks until on the fourteenth, a tall man approached Colby just as he was about to enter the hospital.

"Hello there! You're the new obstetrician, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, Dr. Roger Colby, and you?"

"Nothing as important as that. Arthur Wyneth. Came here to enjoy a little boating and got this." He showed him a finger with a fish hook in it. "Hurts like the dickens. You wouldn't have something to fix it up?"

"I can't do anything about it right now. Emergency delivery." Colby pointed towards the reception area. "See the nurse there. She'll find someone to fix it up."

Arthur thanked him and left.

Cox made a mental note. _The man is in his forties, much older than he. His name did not fit, and that accent he's hiding is giving him away._

However, he had other matters. He went into washroom adjoining the operating room, took off his jacket, put on his delivery gown, wash his hands up to the elbow, put on his operating gloves, had the nurse tie on his cap, and mask, and went to perform a caesarean section.

When it was over, he had a cup of tea with his fellow doctors and they all talked about their worst cases.

When his shift finished, Cox went to his new home, and heard from Liza. "There are others like us nearby."

"Pretenders, Dominants?"

"Yes."

He hoped none of them was from New England.


	6. Removal of Past Pain

CHAPTER SIX

JAN 16, 2002

As soon as they purged the Centre, the Dominants set up their headquarters in a large house a block away from Miss Parker's and Lambourni's. It had been on the market for some time, and they paid the real estate, cash, as was their custom. Among the supplies was some medical equipment.

It was perfectly suitable for their needs, having four stories, an entrance through the garage plus two other entrances, the main one, and the back one. Being built in the eighteen hundreds, there had been a large kitchen at the back with three small bedrooms intended for the kitchen staff. The Dominants had removed one of the walls, insulted it, installed soundproofing, and made this larger room into a medical infirmary, bringing in as much equipment as necessary plus upgrades to ensure that they could use as much amperage or voltage as they desired.

Since the pillar was already in the Centre, there was no need to move it near the school in Connecticut. The Dominants never had their Council places near their schools. It was too dangerous.

However, that was not their concern. Lewison and another man, an older Dominant with gray eyes and an aristocratic bearing were looking at some photographs. "These are from Lambourni. He placed videos all over the Centre, unknown even to Lady Angela and got these," said the Mentor.

"It's good you brought this to the Council's attention. You say that these were done to him after he went through the Official Joining?"

"Yes sir. We came at the end, when they were going to destroy his genitals. They did not succeed." Lewison bowed to the older man. He knew this Roderick, the same age as his own father, one of the council, and he was privileged to be speaking to this man.

Roderick had been a boy when they first decided to kill the humans who were their ancestors. He had risen in the ranks, and now sat at the table with the others in the Council. Roderick looked about forty but was older. "Where is he now?"

"The Medicals are examining his wounds to see if they can lessen the damage. The humans used a cat of nine tails."

"Wait here."

Roderick went to the former servant's bedroom room where two men and two women in white coats were looking at Jarod's back. One of them had a tube with a bright light that he ran over portions of the Pretender's back while another removed a small sliver of metal from under his shoulders. He showed it to Roderick.

"Imbedded into the bone."

Roderick snarled. That a Favorite should be whipped should never be. That Dr. Raines or Mr. Lyle had inflicted or had someone inflict them was an insult. Oh, Jarod had been whipped before, but he was not a Favorite yet, and those scars had faded. Favorites were beaten with fists, hit over the head with clubs, kicked, but never whipped with cat of nine tails. Besides, Dominants used the pain inducer. It was more effective, more painful, and less lethal. They also used other methods to make Favorites know their main purposes were not tidying the yard, chauffeuring the owner from place to place, or ordering other Dominant bondservants lower than themselves."

"So how long will it take to be healed?" asked Jarod.

"How long before you and Lady Angela, that is Miss Parker, leave for California?" asked Roderick.

"We planned it for the tenth to avoid the Holiday travel, but it has been delayed, the necessary investigation licenses are rather slow in coming."

"Next month is too soon. I read your information about that absconder who refuses to pay the financial contribution for his offspring. It was necessary that we should be informed and perhaps arrange for a suitable punishment for this creature. Did not the article mention at least four other hunters pursuing him, much in the same way that Miss Parker pursued you?"

"That is the reason I figured I could get him. Such subterfuge requires someone acquainted with his intelligences."

"You are correct, but perhaps he will expect such a one with that knowledge."

"I understand," said the Pretender," but what I learned from this man came from secondary sources. I will have to study up on his habits so that I may take him unawares. It will take but a few minutes. How long will the healing ensue?"

"Your healing will take some time. What about your duties?"

"Other than?"

"Other than that. I will inform the Lady that she can do without your body for the next few evenings. We can arrange for someone to do the remaining repairs so that the Sapien informer does not fall down the last loose basement steps again. As for the healing process, you must remain erect although you can walk about and lie on your stomach. We would have to strap you in bed to prevent you turning around and I doubt you'd like that."

"Of course not," said Jarod, "but for the sake of removing the scars, I can endure anything. Have you Raised my new son?"

"The one called Jeremiah has been Raised. Our mentors are removing the indoctrination done to him by the Centre using intensive methods so the children can go with you to California."

"And what of the ones held in the Inner Sanctum. Surely we deserve to have them."

"You forgot, your owner is Lady Angela," he said using their title for Miss Parker. The children will be kept with separate families to ensure they are not killed by those companions in the Inner Sanctum who were like you. When they are of age, their lives will not be threatened and Lady Angela can see them and if she wishes, will let you see them as well. You know the rules."

Frederick and Margaret had been teenagers when he saw them. Was Jarod supposed to wait ten years or more for the other children? He wished that the Dominants were more lenient, but as for turning into regular homo sapiens, he knew that could never be. He had lived all these years as one, and found being a Dominant more satisfying.

The Dominants were not like the Nazis in they had to follow orders, but their species was not far enough in population to go into grays. They obeyed certain rules such as honoring God or the Divine, and the Ten Commandments because such ensured their survival. Anyone caught stealing paid with the full extent of the Dominant law. He had to restore in financial cost what he purloined. If you were in the Chameleon program and passed yourself off as homo sapien, you were lucky, but many 1.6rs/Pretenders worked as field workers, gas jockeys, store clerk because they did not want to bring attention to themselves, that is, until they took a course to 'upgrade' themselves. It took them less time, and since they needed less sleep, they usually said they took night courses after work. So far, the Sapiens were none the wiser.

The Council had strict rules as to when to let a captive live, who is allowed to be a Chosen, and what powers he or she had. They even decided what type of house and cost of house a free Dominant could live in, but they could make allowances under extreme circumstances. However, one of their unbreakable rules was a Favorite, the slave consort or concubine of a free Dominant or free Homo Sapien must never be whipped on the back, across the face, or anywhere.

So knowing all this, the Dominants had to find someone to pay. At first, they started to look into Dr. Cox, the only surviving crony of the Parker Elite, but after the attempted slaying of his concubine, Liza, one of their own, and when they learned Cox had turned against The Centre or rather Raines and Lyle, they turned their fury towards Lady M whom the Dominants suspected was also called Margaret.

"It appears that although Raines had installed Lady M to be his partner along with Lyle as heads of the Centre, Mr. Parker had already started your mistress to fill that role," said Roderick.

"Yes then it will make the extermination of M more the easier since Lady Angela would not object to us removing a obstacle to her succession, and with Lambourni there, he will keep her from the human influence or rather homo sapien influence," said the Mentor.

The Councilman sneered. "Lambourni is installing himself as head of the Centre."

"I have no objection," said Jarod who was now standing at a table, turning on his laptop, his shirt on the back of the chair, his slacks slightly lowered down his hips so the top of the lower scars could heal. The rest would be attended to later when the female medicals were occupied elsewhere and since the healing did not require light, could be done at night when he was asleep.

"Good," said Roderick, The Executioner, "Lewison, do you have the information on Cox?"

"Yes, and I have that of Lady M."

"Excellent, but first we have to fill those four seats. You being a Mentor are unqualified as is Lambourni,"

"Irish and that mate we choose for him, Sharon, might be acceptable plus we need two others from the Lost Ships."

Roderick marked it on his palm pilot, reminding Lewison that Irish and Sharon would not do because their parents had been enslaved by the Centre. However, on further purloining the principal's information, he concurred.

"Since they came into the rightful place among the New Species by being born outside the Centre, unmarked and their parents were killed, we felt no need of going through a manumission since the death of the adults cancelled such a method."

"Yes, but that means that none of the eight who are Lady Angela and her consort Jarod will ever be on the Council unless he is dead. I do not want that to happen," protested Lewison.

"I will need the disc. I believe Jarod has a few copies. Get one from him and have the medicals extract DNA from all the survivors and keep them until we recover the bodies of their ancestors."

The medicals had already removed the traces of the drugs from Major Charles and his family who were in a room in the front along Miss Parker with the quadruplets. Much of the time was spent in finding as much information about Jarod's parents as to their background and heritage and suggesting some places the Major and Margaret's family had resided, making Jarod's parents and sister even more confused as to where they really came from.

"As for the other problem," continued Roderick, "the former boss of Walter Attwood," said our campaign to slur her was successful. Some even suspect she is one of us."

They could not punish Raines again. He was ashes minus his head encased in an acrylic buried in a cement box that was now somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. In Dominant culture that was the worse you could do — being equivalent to a man hanging on a tree, being cursed forever. They would have done the same to Mr. Lyle, but there was not much left for him to bury after Ted and the others crushed the pillar on him.

"Oh," said Lewison, "now the former Centre is no more, none of those who we gave as Favorites to our own, have any transportation other than driving their owners around, a task left to a driver."

"Didn't Jarod have licenses in his many disguises?"

"They belonged to the Centre and all Jarod needed to do was go to a car dealer, buy a sports car, show a license, plop down the cash, and away he went." The Mentor showed his disdain for the Centre by knocking one of the Centre's priceless objects, a gift from the Chinese government, to the floor and crushing it beneath his feet.

"I can take care of that," said Roderick. He motioned to a female Dominant who walked in, carrying a license-copying machine. "This is Elaine, a Mechanic. You know Lewison."

"I am honored," she said. She was dark with a white complexion, and gray eyes. Like most Dominants, she had removed her outfit from her victims. The skirt consisted of two parts, one sewn on top of the other, and the blouse once belonged to a teenaged girl who never returned home. It was standard K mart issue and none traceable. "I made a few alterations from the Centre program. By pressing this sequence of numbers, the code changes so that none of these licenses are traced to us or the former Centre. Now what was the name of Miss Parker's new firm?"

"I believe it was 'Avenging Angels Investigations Ltd.' She haS herself as owner and manager. Now as for Jarod, only his first name is on as investigator. She lived in the Centre most of her life, by the way," said Lewison.

Elaine attached the machine via a cable to the computer in the room. It looked like the regular high-end one, except that it operated by voice. Motioning the others for silence, she gave the machine the command. "Jarod di Angela, age…" After she finished, she turned to the others. "I can only make them for the Favorites, but none for the others held in bondage. If you would give any information, has the Joining been performed for any?"

The answer was positive after genetic tests had been taken on them to ensure they were not mating with their relations, something that did not bother Raines. The Dominants had even tested Miss Parker, although without her knowledge, because of her strong resemblance to her mother, and even tested Olivia who looked exactly like Catherine when she was a baby. However, they determined that Miss Parker was not a clone of her mother, had inherited her mother's strong genes and if there was a case of incest it was farther back in the past.

"We cannot remove the chip from the infants, but their future brothers and sisters can purchase their freedom. Lambourni suggests that they be employed as Food Servers in what the humans call restaurants and which we call External Dining Establishments. They allow the servers to keep monies given by the diners. They can then purchase their freedom. He also suggests it be made low enough but not too low."

"Excellent. I will commend Antonio for his wisdom and good judgment and Sydney and Broots?" asked Roderick, "I expected to see their bodies? What failure is this?"

"The mental doctor and the computer expert? No failure. Brought to our side, besides the latter has a daughter whose life was threatened by the Centre. We make allowances for these humans and they did help bring down the Centre. However, not all the staff was there, I heard the FBI came to their residences and arrested several whom we felt deserved our special attention, Roderick. I can have the medicals prepare a substance. I believe my brother is a doctor employed at Leavenworth but it will take time to find the others and when we do…." She had a cold smile.

"If Cox did rat, a human term, on his own, perhaps as a reward he was removed to a different location under a different name. That would make Gino's designation and consequently his offspring a bit unclear, seeing all are marked," said Lewison.

Roderick came up with an idea. "You tell me that they were all referred to as diParki. If Cox were under another name, Gino would be also. Since he does not have a last name or the others, he might be known by his origin. I believe his mother was Sicilian. Elaine, I want you to find the origins of those of us we saved from the Centre, those not of Miss Parker's and Jarod's issue and I want them all be named by their origins with di in front of it. I want the name of Parker as pertaining to the Parkers eliminated from those of our kind once kept in the Inner Sanctum. Only Miss Parker is worthy of that name and only until she goes to the Divine — in perhaps fifty years or more. Then the only Parkers remaining will be those not claiming their origins from that island."

Jarod was only half-listening to this conversation, being occupied in finding out more about the Deadbeat, about his vanity, his interest in yachts, love of female company, and fascination for dog and horses, which left The Pretender in a quandary. Of these interests, what would be the most compelling for such a man that he would be there when they caught up to him.

Further investigation showed that there were several racetracks in the area, but these had been looked in at by the other investigators who were also hampered that there was not much background information on the Deadbeat, who had also changed his name, and not being of a distinguished type, could easily blend in the background. Jarod suspected that the horse angle would be the first thing they would check, but he suspected that the Deadbeat was too conceited to hang out at the tracks. He wanted to be seen along with his beauties. He wanted attention, and to mingle with the upper crust and there was one thing the upper crust had in common. Most of them owned yachts and many of them were interested in sailing. It would not be in the immediate area, the season was not right and certainly, Deadbeat would not hang around near an area where his ex-wife lived even when spring approached. The racing season usually started in spring, and there was a regatta starting in the Bahamas and one in California.

The Deadbeat would be off his guard then, and his capture imminent, but which one? Would it be going to the Bahamas or going to California?


	7. THEM

CHAPTER SEVEN

March 07 2002

"Would Madam like a window seat?" The man behind the counter smiled at the woman so elegantly dressed.

"Yes please and non smoking. It is first class, is it not? I don't want to sit near some tourists." She sniffled her nose, glaring at the man behind her, a stubby guy in his mid fifties, fat, paunch bellied, wearing a worsted brown jacket, and smelling of old cigars, and several college students on their Spring Break.

"Naturally madam, first class, non-smoking. You can check your baggage over there. I might add, you're only allowed one carryon and if you have any scissors, knives, needles, or any that can be used as a weapon, please put them in the cargo hold "

"Thank you." The woman held out a Monaco tanned hand, took the ticket, went to the café, ordered a coffee, "plain no Irish coffee thank you," and a small salad. She had at least two hours before boarding the plane.

She looked around at the others, families with children, businessmen on trips, and even some Iranian refugees escaping from Saddam's cruelty. A black man slept on one of the seats. He must have been waiting there since last night. A two year old tried to toddle away towards a balloon display. The man in the table behind her was having steak and chips with globs of ketchup. The family besides her snacked on sandwiches and the intercom radio blared out "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

"Excuse me, _Señora_."

The woman almost froze, and then her head snapped around.

"Sorry didn't mean to startle you."

"Quite all right I thought you were someone I did not want to see."

"Well do you mind if I sit here?"

_He looks nice, white gray hair, distinguished, almost like a movie star if you preferred the nineteen fifties type_, she thought, and said, "Not at all."

He was going to see his married daughter. She had lived in Delaware for most of her life, but had met her husband when he was here on holidays ten years ago. "Sure's nice, him coming from Los Angeles and wanted to live here. But I guess the cold weather got too much for him"

"So he persuaded her to move back with him."

"It's quite a bit away from the city," said the distinguished man, "a farming area and they have a riding stable, a dude ranch nearby."

"It sounds like they're happy. I just came back from the French Riviera myself."

"Yes they are. Did you spend the winter over there? I would expect you to be in Texas or Arizona and there are cruise ships going to Mexico." He fingered his coffee. "I was born in Mexico. I guess you can tell it by my accent."

The woman hoped he would not notice she never volunteered any information. She was quite good at that, drawing people out and she did find out his country, although not his city, but she could tell he came from somewhere south of Mexico City and he was European by looks. This meant he was descended from the Spanish Nobility, and his family held a lot of political power — something to keep in mind. This helped her get to where she was, although now it did not do any good with THEM.

An hour past, and the man had left, but she still had some time to kill so she went to the magazine rack and picked up a West Coast newspaper. Since she were going to California, she might as well know what was going on, the latest murders, the newest fashions, what movie star was going with whom, how the political situation was. She knew she had to be prepared if she wanted to stay away from THEM.

Funny they looked like everyone else, only when you got up close did you see the predatory look in their eyes. It was like that at the Centre, something she saw in Jarod when she saw him as a man with Miss Parker, different from when she observed him before Then the look had been curious, almost a little childlike, the type the Centre wanted for its lab rat.

Oh, she had seen how he looked when he was away, a little more adult, but still naïve until the last year or two, when something half- hidden came from the pictures the Centre photographers gave Miss Parker so she could hunt him down. Lady M did not know then what it meant. She thought it was the eyes of the hunted. _If you ran a man down like an animal, sooner or later he'll act like one_. She had seen this in escaped convicts, or killers, eyes almost cat like in their savagery. The Centre had kept him on the move, making sure he never had a home or a place to stay for long, but Lady M never realized that the change in Jarod's eyes were not a result of the pursuit, but something inborn in him.

"Passengers for Flight T200 heading for San Bernardino and all points west, please go to Gate 1."

The woman took her ticket out her purse and headed for Gate 1.


	8. Increased Sense of Appetites

About the veal thing, I figured Jarod's aversion to veal because veals are baby cows.

He'd probably not want to eat suckling pig either.

CHAPTER EIGHT

March 7, 2002

Jarod had lost his usual energy. He wanted to lie down and fall asleep, but he had been up since five with no rest the day before, the examination had taken longer than he expected, and so by the time, he was back with Miss Parker, he could have lain on the floor and not get up for at least a couple of days.

The months since the healing had flown past so fast that Jarod felt like he was twenty years older, the months having consisted of removing the rest of his scsrs, going on leads, and taking the various examinations of a Detective license, which he found out was not a one State fit all. He had spent so much traveling, that he felt he was back on his own Pretend, because Jarod had to look for any man meeting the Deadbeat's description, and avoid them, take on a disguise, and remove it once he entered the examination room of the States would not accept an online or mail in application. Since he missed his family, he had to return to Blue Cove and go out again, sometimes with Miss Parker and the children in tow, sometimes alone, sometimes with a travel companion, sometimes in a convention with other 'business' types who carried samples in their briefcase. Yes, he really had to dig down into his stock of tricks for this one.

Yes now when they were ready to leave for California, he couldn't do so much as open his eyes. Why didn't the Deadbeat have an easier hobby like gambling, then they could go to Atlantic City, or Las Vegas?

MacLean decided to go along with them. The story of a man who reneged on his child support payments intrigued him. He packed his suitcase and went into the living room where Jarod was dozing on the floor and Miss Parker was bending over him, shaking him with one hand, and the other one, well MacLean did not want to know. Besides, he was tired of that lecture Lewison gave him about low emotional levels; the Dominant social structure (which resembled that in ancient times — after all, they had not been here that long) and an owner can do anything to his or her property without killing him or her.

Well finally, Jarod was awake, shook his hair loose, tucked what was out in, and asked, "Are the children ready?"

"You get them ready. We're about to leave," said Miss Parker.

"The female's supposed to care for the children."

"But you're the Favorite. I got their toys in the car." She waited until Jarod came out with two under one arm, two under the other, and Jeremiah on his shoulders. "Say that's not the way to carry them."

Jarod just ignored her and put the kids upright, fastening them in their seat belts, he then went back inside to get the camera, laptop, and other essential materials. Miss Parker decided she had better keep quiet about the whole thing. They had to get to the airport or rather to Lambourni's airport.

MacLean felt rather uncomfortable sitting in the back row with the children. They had their seat belts on, but he knew that they were agile enough to get out and no doubt kill him. Jarod, however, glared back at the children with a threatening type of stare.

They traveled along the highway, turning along this hill towards Lambourni's airport or rather Lambourni 2, the other one being in New Jersey. The Centre used to own most of it, but with the takeover, its scope gradually disappeared. The Dominants now were in control, except for a section designated for Miss Parker or Lady Angela, as they called her. Her private plane, that held at least six adults plus cargo and had a jet engine, was ready

"Something's bothering me," said MacLean, "you said two percent of about two hundred, that is four were unaccounted for. Didn't the Inner Sanctum hold more than four?"

"The Centre held records of every breeding, I know that's distasteful," said Miss Parker, "but that is true. Mr. Parker senior also wrote down the names of those on the Lost Ships minus birth certificates and marriage licenses, naturally. After the takeover, we were able to match as close as possible DNAs. It was not possible in 1998, or previous. Four of the Dominant captives were unrelated to any of the group."

"So who are they?"

"Maybe they're not from the Lost Ships," said Jarod, "Carla, Frederick's concubine, is one of the Mexican Dominants, snatched by the Mexican branch of the Centre when an infant. There is also another girl. This means there are two others."

"Two, but why did you say four?"

"A male and female of the Dominants who originated in Mexico would not be acquainted with Delaware customs, let alone any part of New England. They'd think Californian because that's what the Dominants told them to think since they would be hiding there."

"You talk as if they are robots."

"When you were to go over to Africa, to South Africa, what did they tell you?"

"Oh that South Africans often spoke Afrikaans, a Dutch dialect, and that in other parts, you had to know French."

"So if you went to California, you'd have to know about surfing, Hollywood stars, some Spanish. In New England, you learn about chowder, baked beans, the Theatre. Different culture. The two probably joined and had twins or four, and two were either killed or died."

"Four unaccounted for."

"When we get back, I'll talk to the Medical Councilor whoever he or she is and have him look into it," said Miss Parker, "I wonder what the penalty is."

"He's called the Head of the Medicals and we could make things easier by cloning Raines and killing him again and again," said Jarod.

"Sure, sure and I'm Mary Queen of Scots," Miss Parker replied as she put her left arm around him and unzipped his fly. "I hope the trip will be easy."

"You know it will. You read the weather report as well." He stopped the car and they got out.

Jarod was going to pilot the plane and MacLean hoped that Miss Parker would not do anything to distract him. Seeing a man fondled rather disturbed the reporter, well even if the man was a Dominant and impervious to the usual "Oh that feels good!" along with the appropriate heavy breathing of a normal human. Perhaps the Dominants were more in danger from the humans than the humans from the Dominants.

MacLean looked through the book Lewison gave him, skimming through the traditions of their origins, the ones assumed in the nineteen nineties and the newly revised version which told of an experiment in World War 11 of creating a nemesis against Hitler's Aryans and how the experiments were sent to Mexico except for the two lost ships.

The book had a CD inserted in it which the reporter had looked at , seeing how Mr. Parker, senior caused the two lost ships to be shipwrecked, and consequently hunted down and persecuted the survivors, enslaving most in the Centre. It was a new revision, having in the back, the cleansing of the Centre, but MacLean was not interested in this. He wanted to learn about the Dominant culture.

"All right MacLean, we're taking off. Better leave the reading till later," said Jarod. Miss Parker got in besides him, by her actions was going to do everything with her hands to arouse him. Jarod had his eyes on flying the airplane, but if he had to put it on automatic pilot, they could make love at that moment with no trouble and no foreplay.

The reporter returned to his book, looking up, noting the Dominant display of affection when Jarod cupped the side of her face against his, stroking it with his right hand and keeping up a steady scream of conversation, telling her the places he had been and what he did. He did ask about his sister, and his parents. It appeared he had not seen his mother for over a year. The Centre had kept the family on the run; the father and daughter one place (Lyle had killed his younger brother), the mother going another, the daughter almost killed by the Centre, etc.

MacLean picked up more information from the Book. The New Species, Dominants, 1.6rs, or Pretenders bore four children at a time. That meant that Jarod had three true siblings, the terms for fraternal or identical. However, at the time that Jarod was born, the NuGenesis Medical Facility, a satellite of the Centre, did not know that his brother and sisters would be as strong and as intelligent as he, so they disposed of them.

As for Jarod's own species, those in Mexico, they were unaware that he ever existed until one of them, a man called Lambourni appeared where he should not have been, in New England, rather than in Mexico, New Mexico, California, or Nevada. However, with the Mexican Pretenders or Dominants having their hands full fighting the authorities or trying to keep their existence secret — MacLean was unsure of what really went on.

Once their leader, Tom Daniels married Sloan Parker, the Dominants were now free to investigate the New England situation and began to close in on the Centre.

However, they would not tell Jarod, for the Dominant law was very clear. They still worked on the eye for an eye concept. He would now be obligated to kill any responsible including their families and that would bring the homo sapien against him. Right now, the homo sapiens thought he was a field investigator for Miss Parker's company.

Jarod had forged papers, done things that were illegal, mostly because Sydney was told to keep him from moral decisions and what Sydney told him was more to do with his own prejudices rather than truth. MacLean closed the book.

"So you used a placebo?" Miss Parker asked Jarod.

"It had a temporary effect. Made him think he was going mad and did I tell you about the psychiatrist?"

"Yes Jarod. When will we be there?"

"A few hours unless you want us to stop down and get something to eat in a restaurant."

"That will be perfect."

_No wonder the Dominants wanted to exterminate us_, thought MacLean, _Jarod's hungry already and we just got on the plane half an hour ago._

He turned to another part of the book. The Council, a sort of Dominant Supreme Court/Parliament/Judges decided everything. MacLean was not sure about the equivalent category in homo sapien terms, although the title _Lords of All We Survey_ came to mind. Even the Chosen, until their full state, had to bow to the Council's wishes. The Supreme Chosen was under their thumb until he was past his thirtieth birthday, an unusual situation because they had to flee Mexico shortly after he got the tattoos.

Normally a Mentor trained the Chosen until he was twenty. However, Tom Daniels had to return to his mother for a few years and then his Mentor came and got him, which meant he had to do the appropriate exterminations of certain people and take the same amount of education in the same amount of time. According to the book, Tom went to work at fifteen, which would have been twenty-two human terms or perhaps it was twenty-five. The Dominants did not go to schools then. They learned from their Mentors and being quite intelligent, they picked up how to read, write, calculus, physics, the whole bit by absorption or osmosis.

Jarod showed little outward affection no hugging, smooching or kissing and no reaction to love making. The reporter, decided to look for a sign from Jarod, perhaps an eyebrow going up or his nose twitching or maybe it was that darn hand stroking.

The New Species were always reviving the Book and MacLean read a couple of paragraphs that told in strong language how evil the Centre was. He started to read what they would do to those who hunted their kind down and imprisoned them as Pretenders in the sublevels, but got visibly sick after the first few sentences of "gorging out their eyes," "cutting out their tongues, pulling out their teeth," and "tearing off their flesh with tiny sewing pins," and other such niceties. The rest of the descriptions were so horrible that he closed his eyes while turning to the next chapter, hating what would happen if the Centre had recruited them instead of hunting them.

He had to back up a few pages to read the chapter about the household servants, especially the Favorites and learned, because the Dominants wanted a large middle class, they had to use the Favorites for that. To accomplish this, the Favorite's body belonged to his or her owner, and 'especially that part used for procreation (according to the book) can be utilized without the will or specific desire of the Favorite, as long as permanent injury does not occur or render nil the effects." It was a nice way to describe forced arousal and it did make MacLean gag.

The Centre had told Miss Parker from the time she was able to understand that Jarod was property, so much beneath her, that he could not even touch her without asking permission and she was to let him know that. Jarod's position in Miss Parker's household was lower than that of the children and she used him with no regard to his privacy. That Jarod was so much in love with Miss Parker, and his 1.6 nature gave him a natural self esteem in spite of his treatment, did not alleviate MacLean's opinion altogether.

Jarod had never been free, except when he thought he was as a small child, and besides he had always been in love with Miss Parker, but MacLean still could not stand that hand stroking of the face that the Pretender did when Miss Parker did some of that utilizing that part meant for procreation. _I guess that protects them. By the time, we run looking for a dictionary, the male's buttoned up his pants, the female's straightened her skirt, pulled up her pantyhose and when a couple of bug eyed homo sapien voyeurs come in, they hear, "Excuse me what are you doing in our room?"_

They were coming for a landing. Miss Parker turned around to talk to the children telling them they were going to get something to eat.

"Yes mother."

She then turned back to kissing and fondling Jarod while he returned her affection in good old Dominant (blast it) face stroking with hand style and saying "love you" without the expected raise and flutter in his voice.

They landed at the private section of a public airport, walked over to the building and then into the airport cafeteria. And MacLean noted that Jarod did have a very big appetite. _I mean how could he put away those two large sirloin steaks, mashed potatoes with gravy, mushrooms, onions, vegetables, etc, a large ice cream sundae, coffee, etc and go back for seconds and thirds and fourths_. However, he shied away from the breaded veal cutlets and even with Miss Parker telling him "it's not poison," he would not touch them. "But they're cute when alive," he said, "and have such sad eyes."

As for the children, they were always going over to the dessert section and coming back with two more pies, ice cream, jello, etc. and the maitre de had this worried look on his face, usually reserved for someone about to descend into abject poverty and ruination.

"Jarod hardly got anything to eat when he was in the Centre," said Miss Parker. "He was starving. Oh, I'd better make a note of this cafeteria. They'll probably not let us in anymore." She did manage to leave a larger than usual tip.

Then they got back to flying.


	9. All That Female Attention

CHAPTER NINE

Mar. 7, 2002

Wyneth lolled on his boat, watching his new friends, the doctor and his young wife on shore, and fingered his glass of Tom Collins. He was not alone. The two girls were very obliging; both dressed in the customary uniform of high cut bikinis and bras that left little to the imagination. What a life he decided. His ex was very capable of making enough money to support that little brat. Besides, it wasn't his. The Lab guys faked the DNA tests

"Want some more beer, Artie?" asked the blonde, bending over him

"Thank you Sheila."

She had a squeaky voice just as false as her lack of intelligence. Sheila Grant was a Physics major cursed with a dumb blonde's body. Her friend, Melody, came from a working class family, most of the times on welfare. She was dark and curvy and spoke with a Southern accent. Both girls had one thing in common. They were users although Wyneth did not know it.

Both girls had appeared on a video called '_College Girls Showing It All'_ which was advertised on late night television shows and lately on the junk email circuit. However, Florida soon proved too hot for them. Melody's brother bought the video and said to his parents, Say lookit what Melody's doing!" The result was that her parents kicked her out of their rented house.

Sheila was going back to California after the Spring Break a couple of years ago, when she met Melody walking along the road. Well she was rich enough to pay for two tickets, not just one. They got on the airport, Melody got a job in a restaurant that had excellent tipsters, while Sheila went back to Whitney University, and now since she graduated last year, they could have fun.

They leased a condo and soon found that the only way to afford the rent was 'getting older men to date and pay for us', and making excuses when the men asked, "do you hot babes wanna come over for a drink?" They got the men to buy them furs, diamonds, pearls, and other valuables which they promptly pawned and pocketed the difference. Now here was this tall hunk with that gorgeous tan, and that cruiser!

_Cayman Islands here we come_!

"Say girls, you don't know any good places around here, dancing, you know."

"It's a small town. You have to go to San Bernardino. They do have a night club here, but hardly anyone of interest goes there," said Melody.

"But we haven't anything to wear," said Sheila looking forlorn. "They don't allow swim wear and all I have is this stupid dress." She pulled out a bedraggled calf length dress from her bag, something she picked up from the Salvation Army Thrift shop for just an occasion. It did nothing for her. The color was all wrong. Melody had more curves, but although she was of the same height, the dress was designed for someone who was model thin and so in either case, it would not have looked good on either of them and especially on Sheila who was rather extensively endowed in the top section.

"I got my waitress uniform. That won't work," said Melody with a pout.

"Where are your other clothes?" asked Ken.

Sheila looked shocked. "Don't you know we came here to get a tan? You can afford to buy us something, can't you? Please?"

Her eyes were so appealing and so pathetic, reminding him of his ex wife, how she looked when they were dating and how he was able to get her to do what he wanted.

"Yes dear. I really don't need to go out," she would say when he came up with an excuse of needing the car at the last minute. Of course, he always made sure that it was when she was going some place and to make sure that she did not get wise, he borrowed it on nights she planned to stay home.

How she got the courage to complain about not getting any alimony or child support payments, he never knew and now he heard they were sending some wisecrack investigator after him. _Well let them send their finest. They'll never catch me!_ Besides this town in California is a whole lot better than sticking it out in Hampton.

The two beach bunnies were anxious to go shopping_. So, they wanted two cocktail dresses either here or in San Bernardino where they were more expensive. Well, the stores are cheaper here._ He changed from bathing trunks into his polo shirt and Docker pants. "Ladies," he said, "let's go shopping."


	10. Alas Poor Yorick

CHAPTER TEN

Mar.7,2007 late afternoon and evening

Jarod, Miss Parker, family, and guest landed at the San Bernardino airport, and decided to take in the sights. Well, it was not Los Angeles, nor San Francisco, but the dead beat had a post office address here rather than at the coastal town that he was staying. Trouble was that Jarod did not know which town it was. All he knew was it was between Los Angeles and San Francisco and a bedroom community serving one of those two centers.

He took his camera, inserted a 125 mg smart card, and checked to see if the batteries were charged, (hoping to see the subject in question), walked over to the Post Office information center, and showed the woman a photograph of the scum bag.

"Yes he was here last week."

"You wouldn't know his address would you?"

"Really sir, we can't divulge that information," said the woman who had the look of someone that not even prying open her fingernails would get her to volunteer.

"Even if I were to tell you that he has a daughter who needs a medical operation and the mother cannot afford to pay for it and he did not even pay alimony. Skipped out when the kid was in hospital and he's used the money to play the horses and …" He handed her the advertisement for the Yacht Club.

She straightened her glasses, and a shocked expression came on her face as she moved her head from side to side, nodded to Jarod and with her head tilted and her eyes in the direction of a bald man in a worsted suit and whispered into Jarod's ear. "If you have a map of the area, I'll mark the towns with that particular yacht club. That'll narrow the field."

It sure did and Jarod walked out and over to Miss Parker. "I got four possibilities. So what one will we try first?"

"We can do it after shopping." She had the children out of their seats, and started to walk away, hoping they would follow. Unfortunately, Dominant children at that age were into the same type of mischief as homo sapiens at two years old and Jeremiah was an instigator, encouraging the children to scatter in all directions, and acting like the typical older brother who wanted to pull something on their parents and distribute the blame between all of them. Fortunately, both Miss Parker and Jarod were able to wind up the children before they did any mischief.

"While we're searching for the Deadbeat, we have to make sure that he doesn't suspect us," said Jarod, "and being this is my area of expertise, I would suggest we dress in the native costume. We'll need some extra clothes, swimming trunks, bathing suits, gaudy shirts," said Jarod.

"We're in California, not Hawaii. You've been watching that Elvis movie!"

"That is the appropriate customs for tourists and will make the Deadbeat not suspect us, but I doubt that'll help. If we were alone, we could dress in a more Princeton or severe type manner appropriate to those on a sabbatical from a University. However, even with the loud shirts, none of us, with the exception of MacLean, look the American Mid West tourist type."

"Do you think Sabbatical from University might work? Most professors are so busy at work they do not have time for the kids. Why do you think they hired nannies for, to have something to talk to? What's wrong with you?"

"So we act like academics whose babysitter is not available. We take the children to the museums, and anything intellectually simulating. We act as if we're trying to be good parents, but are rather nervous. We look at the How To Parent manual and if the children need changing, you act all flustered and nervous as if someone else did it for you. Now where's a high class clothing store that sells children's wear?" He started to look around, finally spotting one, started towards it.

Now came teaching the others to act the part. The children were elated, being Progenies, but MacLean could not see the fuss and the only higher education Miss Parker, the Centre provided by having a section set up as a Private school, and furthered the illusion by taking her on a convoluted route so she first imagined that she was driving out to the country. Later Miss Parker went outside the Centre proper and took a tour of the grounds. She soon found that the door that no one could open and when she raised her right hand above the door jam, she found a small indentation that she pressed and opened the door. It led to a hallway and the floor had recently been repaired as if something heavy about the size of the car had been there and she spotted two large heavy electrical outlets on the floor at either side of the hall. She continued down the hallway until she came to some rooms that resembled her schoolroom, entered an elevator that led her right into her Mr. Parker's office and remembered that when she was ready for college, they brought in tutors, and she had the extensive use of the library. Consequently, she had never sat on a seat in a lecture hall and listened to a Professor spouting the History of English Common Law. She had never walked by the Professors in a hallway, nor heard their manner of speech.

Jarod, having seen everything, knew how to act. In fact, he had been a Professor once. Lewison had remarked that he was a natural Chameleon, but that was not a compliment. He could not qualify for the Chameleon program just as he could not become one of their Nobility. The Centre had destroyed that chance and although Geraldo had purged it of its evil influence, no one could remove that bar chip from his skull, a chip that could detect his every move.

Now the compact that Miss Parker had was just a location device. Pressing it numerous times would not cause him to experience intense pain, nor pressing a certain code could not turn him into a robot, nor holding it a certain way, could not program his brain to accept certain commands. When the scientists under Mr. Parker's direction, invented it, they did not want their Pretender or Pretenders to do things seemingly against their will. The drugs they gave them had made the Pretender more compliant and besides the chip might paralyze them if it were more than just for identification. The Centre did not want vegetables.

The chain he wore around his neck with the crucifix, however, had something in it that would cause excruciating pain if Miss Parker got annoyed. Jarod figured it was a transmitter to all parts of his body, but he did wonder why they chose a crucifix, since although the Parkers were supposedly Catholics, he had been raised without any religious morals. He supposed that Miss Parker decided that she had better raise their children better then her father and uncle did with her. It was not because Major Charles and Margaret were also Catholics and he had been baptized. This fact he had learned from a tape between Catherine and his mother, secretly recorded by Sydney who had given it to Miss Parker after the Centre takeover. She would have destroyed it otherwise.

Deciding to use this information, Jarod figured the MacLean would be a close friend, the buffer who would try to get them to open up, and be more, as it were, human? "When we meet a Father, we say, 'Good afternoon Father,' and when we go to a restaurant and order a miniature adult meal with wine for the children, you say it is inappropriate, but not in those terms."

"And if I see a poster for a symphony concert and there's a poster for Bozoo the Clown, I say that I'll take the children to the former and you suggest the latter, Mr. MacLean." said Miss Parker.

Jarod had a field day, taking pictures of the San Bernardino museums, remarking in erudite terms, "do you know that…" and added some particular detail as to how they found the particular stones used in its construction and to which Miss Parker said something like "very interesting" but in a more snobbish tone.

In the evening, they went to an intellectually stimulating production of Shakespeare rather than to the more mundane movie production of some Spanish American kids fighting androids. MacLean, of course, did the usual protests.

Jarod noticed that MacLean kept looking at the book for references instead of watching the play, and his constant moving could be bothering the other patrons. "What's going on with you?"

"I'm looking at the explanations in this book. Now why do they call the doctors, medicals? Isn't that an adjective?"

"The terms are made so not give others a wrong impression. Medics would construe someone only with battlefield experience, healers would make one think of a female with a gift of herbs, and that would lead to shaman, meaning a tribal medicine man with the gifts of sorcery, along with the appropriate costume of feathers, beads, shaking sticks, and chants."

"Why man talk skull?" asked Jarvis, giving him a poke as they listened to the famous lines spoken by the famed Danish prince in a graveyard made possible by a few buckets with fake dirt on a floor with plaster of Paris tombstones and a mausoleum painted on a grey backgdrop with dark clouds to give a somber appearance.

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow  
of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath  
borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how  
abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at  
it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know  
not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your  
gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment,  
that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one  
now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen?  
Now get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let  
her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must  
come; make her laugh at that," intoned the actor, his voice rising to the occasion, as he held the skull in his hand while two other actors, dressed in variegated and torn costumes, listened.

"Oh that's Hamlet. He's looking for evidence of his father's murder," said his father while Miss Parker gave them a stern look and shook her head. "Now be quiet. Mr. MacLean, we are superior to homo sapiens, yes even me. It would be beneath us to call us by names meant for a native tribe."

"I would see how that would confuse others." MacLean turned to another section. "Is the merging like on Star Trek?"

"No. It's supposed to keep us Favorites from killing our owners. We got a bottle of the finest wine from Lambourni afterwards. Watch the play." Jarod put his arms around Miss Parker and kept his eyes on the children who were also engrossed in the drama. He also sensed there were other Dominants in the area, since leaving Mexico, the first place they came to was California and that whenever he wanted the police to believe they disappeared, they set their houses on fire. Hide in plain site was a Dominant strategy. He thought little more of this fact, but something in his mind told him that his own kind might assist him in bringing down the Deadbeat.


	11. A Mask of Goodness

CHAPTER ELEVEN

March 8, 2007 all day to evening

Dr. Colby or Cox had started to work on the patients at nine am, believing that there would just be a few routine checkups. It was now a few hours later and he still had not finished. The girls and women were crowding in. It seemed that nine months ago when the full moon asserted its power, everyone decided to make love, well almost everyone. It was like this in the twentieth first century, children having children, married women with their first, the former career woman with her miracle baby, and the older woman having her last, her eyes worried for fear the baby would not be right.

Then there were the discouragers, the ones who looked for the newly pregnant girl to take her to an abortion clinic and who looked at disdain at the women with three or more children in tow, sitting on the waiting chairs, or playing with the toys donated by the Ladies Society and Catholic Women's League. These whispered to their men friends, the latter with the too suave appearance whose hands would never hold a child, whose need was money and the adoration of others.

He did not like them, even though he was a good dresser, drilled since infancy to make a good appearance by a father who was ashamed of his working class background. One thing an obstetrician wants is as many women having as many babies as possible, so as soon as he was able, Cox, that is Colby decided to do something about it. He could no longer arrange adoptions for those children orphaned through his assassination of their parents on the Centre orders. Instead, he kept his weapon only in the defense of his family and called the Catholic Family Service if he could be of assistance in directing any girl who could not care for her child to their adoption service. As well as that, he placed an ad naming himself as a go between for a couple wanting a baby and a girl willing to release hers. For that he required a nominal fee to cover the cost of the girl's medical care and boarding care at the home of a retired nurse who had a soft spot for the unfortunates.

He gave one hundred thousand dollars plus four new cribs including mattresses to the Crisis Pregnancy Center, donated several gift certificates for baby clothes, accessories, and stuff needed to raise children, and volunteered his time as a Big Brother to help a fatherless boy. At least, he knew one thing, if the Dominants went after him they would have a hard time locating him. They would be looking for a selfish ass. However, once the discouraging women learned of his stance from the local Pro Life web site who wrote a list of doctors who were for or against abortion (his being in the latter), he started to get several threatening phone calls and dirty looks.

Once he returned from the hospital, discovering that someone had thrown an egg against the side of his house. He had Liza clean it off and then awoke a few hours later to the sound of a thump. Turning on the light, he found a rock with a note attached had broken one of the potted plants. The note said, "Anti Abortionists! Woman hater!"

He told the police about it, stating that as an obstetrician and a Big Brother, as well as a married man with a young wife and children, he would not stand for such annoyances. The police said they would patrol his house, but Cox knew they were more concerned if he had been on the opposite platform.

He decided to keep his gun with him, hidden in his inside jacket pocket and gave one to Liza. Right now, he was in his office at the hospital, talking to a Mexican American girl who nervously chewed a stick of gum while holding her three-week old son as her mother sat on another side with a look of disapproval not meant for the doctor but for her daughter. It appeared by the two girls hanging onto their grandmother's skirt, this was the third pregnancy. There was no sign of the father. According to the records, he was in jail, again.

"All right _Señorita_," he said to the stout girl with the dark shoulder length hair and the red shirt over pink pedal pushers, "let's see how little Jose's doing."

He picked up the infant and saw that the child was in the correct weight for his age. Colby nodded to the nurse who picked up one of the certificates from the desk and slipped it in the girl's purse.

Colby then gave the girl the address of the pediatrician who would take care of the boy when he was older as well as advice on baby care, where the Crisis Pregnancy Center was His job was done unless five years later, the girl went to Big Brothers and he got to show the boy how to play cricket. _Yes_ he thought, _we'll have the only American Cricket team in California in a few years. _

The next patient was six months along, and this was her tenth, she having lost the others. So far, she had kept up with the bed rest, hiring a woman to help with the house, but she had started to have a little spotting. Colby gave her an examination and ordered her straight to the hospital for bed rest. After the delivery, he would see about surgery that would correct the problem so she would not have trouble with the next pregnancy.

So it continued until five o'clock, seeing one woman after another, one near her term, one just beginning, one poor, one rich, one Mexican, one Anglo Saxon, the whole society of future babies. He sure did not miss the Centre.

Liza told him of the Dominants in the area when he got home. "I saw six at least," she said as she put the food on the table. "What shall I do about this?"

"I doubt they know anything about the Centre," said Cox as he put down his paper. "And I'd like my white shirt for tomorrow. There's a business meeting after work."

"I'll get it ready. Is the tea strong enough?"

"Yes it is. Now about those Pretenders, I want you to find out if they had any connection with the ones in New England. Now you can sit down and eat."

"All right. Gino, my progenitor, came over here on his break and said that there is a Dominant called Marcus trying to bring a peace faction. No one agrees with him." She stirred her potatoes. "Do you know what they gave us before you changed our diet? They worked with the sapiens here to turn them into you, much like the Centre did. Now with the failure here and on the Centre side, they've got to change their methods. No one wants them to succeed."

"Then you better explain it to me." Cox could not understand his concubine's reluctance. Surely, she would want both species to cooperate. For one thing, life would be easier. Back in New England, there was always one of the Inner Sanctum 1.6rs to help with the work once Lambourni had released them from that hellhole. He would just say something like "Brad go fix Cox's garden" or "Linda do the laundry for Cox" and he would have Liza free to look after the children or sit besides him and watch BBC America. Here, however, it was different. Most cooperation was a Chameleon marrying a homo sapien for cover and eventually starting a family of Progenies. Few homo sapiens captured by the 1.6rs survived, most being killed by torture or quickly. The Dominants, who did run into debt or capture by rival factions were too busy, well, erecting pillars, driving someone around, or possibly, fighting to the death in cages. On second thought, the Dominants would probably make their human captives fight to the death and have their own enslaved kind train them. They would, of course, have to conquer the whole earth, first, which considering the recent events of last six years, that was not a possibility.

As it was, they were too busy to hoe the garden, peel the vegetables, or do the other mundane tasks so that Liza could sit besides him in the evening instead of having her scrub the pots and make sure the rose bush did not wilt in the heat.

At about eight, he heard a series of knocks and opened the door to see Gino standing there, his breathing a calm rush as he stood there, his right fist still clutched as if he were to start another series of raps. With his eyes blazing with anger, and his shirt half way buttoned up from the top, he said, "Ted told me that Lady M's on the way to California. What do you want done?"

Cox's face grew sour. He was too tired to think right now and the last person he wanted was that woman coming here and messing things up. He hoped the Marshall told him about it first. They would know what to do and if they did not, he would have Gino take care of her. His eyes glinted and became cold.

"If she comes here, she dies," he said, handing Gino some bills. "Make sure there is enough ammunition and go to the kennel. There's a particular Doberman Pinscher who almost tore the arm of a man who tried to kidnap a little girl. If that's not enough, call me back. I'm afraid Lady M is going to get a nasty surprise."


	12. What is 15?

CHAPTER TWELVE

Mar. 8, 2007, late evening

Getting used to a cover as part of an academic couple was harder for Miss Parker than for Jarod. She hated wearing those ridiculous plain frame glasses and having her skirt almost to her ankle was a bit disconcerting. Did Academics really dress that way? Yet, Jarod told her that professors and such were so engrossed in books, they never bothered about fashion anyway, as if she had to listen to a piece of property, someone she used at night. He was, however, the father of her children and that Official Joining made them legitimate.

She did make a furious phone call to Sydney the next day, which went something like this:

"Why didn't you tell Jarod about Shakespeare?"

"Who is this? Oh, it's you Miss Parker."

"Yes, we went to a production of Hamlet, the first one he apparently seen and he almost embarrassed me, saying that Hamlet was in the graveyard, gaining evidence for his father's murder, to our second oldest, mind you."

"The Centre gave me strict orders never to allow Jarod to learn of any culture!"

"Oh yes, he's not to learn about Shakespeare, he can learn about Wagner, he can only listen to one piece by Mozart, he can learn about the oppression of one race to another, but not about that race to its own, so that he never knew he was a chattel until Damien blurted it out! Did you really think learning about Macbeth is going to get him to turn against the Centre?"

Sydney did not say anything nor was he given a chance to for Miss Parker turned off the cell phone and if it she had not paid full price for it and had a three-year contact, she would have slammed it on the floor.

Jarod was getting the plane ready for takeoff and during that time, Miss Parker recalled that week after the court case when they went through the Super Merging or Ultimate Submission, the term used whether the Favorite was a Dominant (in the first case) or Homo Sapien.

It was certainly not a romantic thing, and certainly not like that MI5 agent's journal that the _Rurales_ mailed back to his family in England where he wrote of the Nazi breeding program and this SS lieutenant getting up, giving the Nazi salute, mind you in his shorts — _so ridiculous that someone would act like that_! _And that Nazi bitch who supervised the whole show says, "that's all right get back to what you were doing" or something like that. She should have "all right Lieutenant, get back to producing those horrible little Aryan babies. Tomorrow night, you'll be with Elsa!" I wonder what bed sheets they used, probably with little swastikas all over them or miniature pictures of Hitler. _ In spite of herself, she started to giggle.

Jarod did not have a stitch on, of course and he did not grovel, or acted degraded. It was just normal for him.

She wore her blouse and a full skirt she had bought for walking along the beach and knew that her acceptance of having sex with Jarod with an audience was because she had been brought up with the Centre's philosophy based on the culture of ancient Greece and Rome before Judeo-Christian morality messed things up. The Parkers wanted others to regard them as gods, especially Raines. It was, as Antonio had said, for the glory of man or rather for the glory of the Parkers.

"What was the reason for all this?" she had asked one of the Dominants after she got up from Jarod who calmly reached for his shirt and pants, putting them on as if it was nothing, showing no shame or degradation by his actions.

"To strike fear in the captives that at any time, in any place, in the street of your crowded cities that even if they obey our orders in detail, we can anything to them," the Dominant watcher said, "but it has never been done."

She never knew who they were, because certainly those favorites and concubines who had gone through the Super Merging, acted as if they always did, with no fear of the consequences, and thee way they talked back to their owners made Miss Parker realize why they were called favorites.

She put on a sweater and walked outside, feeling the cold air on her legs.

"Jarod have you got the plane fixed yet?" she asked.

He came from under the right propeller and it was a good thing there was no one about even though it was pitch black. "Just about."

"Well as soon as you finished, get inside. MacLean'll bring the children later."

"I'm almost done."

She heard a screw turn, and some hammering and Jarod went into the plane. A few minutes later, Miss Parker followed and ordered him to lie on the floor.

Miss Parker never let Jarod kiss or hold her unless she permitted it. Even when she was pursuing him and they ran into each other, there was this social gap between them that they suspected but did not voice. He kept his arms at his side until she said, "All right Jarod just squeeze me tight, no not that tight. I can't breathe!"

Making love was a bit difficult, however, for Miss Parker was three months pregnant and the next batch of Dominants she carried were rather active. She could not go down as far as she liked. If he were a homo sapien, she would ask him to touch her belly and he would make remarks like "they're sure strong" or "boy does that one kick" and she would say, "yes, I feel it too," with the usual warm glow. She did get him to kiss her nipples rather vigorously, while she made some remarks about his body being for her use, him being her possession whose main purpose was to give her children, although it was in a much cruder manner.

Still she was a bit annoyed that he would not protest and she could blame the Centre for that. Miss Parker knew that had the Centre had treated a homo sapien like Jarod, he would have reacted by making himself fat, going on a killing spree, or losing all sense of manhood if he did not committed suicide first. There was nothing similar for the Dominants. Their unwillingness to fight against their captor was an undying code in their genes, similar to the one where the serving maids of the ancient queens willingly allowed themselves to be entombed along with their mistresses. Jarod had first showed it when he told her to shoot him in the back when he wanted to search for his mother. _He was willing to let me kill him and now I can do anything to him, and he will not object! Maybe MacLean is correct. We're more a danger to the Dominants than they are to us. At least, they would only kill us! _

"MacLean'll bring the children," she said, moving off Jarod.

"Maybe I should get them," he said.

"Not the way you look."

Jarod gave her a funny look. "I'm all right. It's still warm outside."

She smiled as she went to a case at the back of the plane, opened it with a key, and tossed something to the Pretender. "Put these on and help MacLean with the children. I'll wait."

So, she waited, trying to understand how the Dominants acted like the Centre and yet Jarod did not mind and then she remembered something Lewison told her about a 1.5 change. Was this why Jarod told her to kill him?

She then thought about the stages the Pretender went through changing from 1.2 to 1.6. The Dominants said there was 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, and 1.6, but why no mention of a 1.5?

_Maybe it's when his senses mature, that five minute sensing, jumping three stories without getting hurt, opening a door and breaking the handle_. She could look at the book, but at the time of its writing, they did not know of the 1.5. _Maybe I can ask Jarod what happened when he no longer became angry, but then he'll talk about Lyle forcing him to Africa and I really don't have to ask, I can just say, "I want to know this" and he'll tell without question. _

She checked the supplies, a can of coke (yes that definitely was a necessity), chocolate bars (another necessity), matches, extra gas, smart cards, bullets, canned food, pet's milk, dehydrated vegetables, and soup. She should have told Jarod to get some diapers and infant sized baby clothes just in case, but she was sure he took care of that.

Miss Parker opened a box, crammed under the back seat. Yes, he had.

Through the window, she could see Jarod and MacLean with the children and the luggage coming towards the plane. Jarod, as usual, carried the most, and looked the most comfortable. One thing about Dominants, their extra strength was an advantage. Making one realize he was just a chattel had to be done in other ways and even that did not change his nature.

Roderick had explained it to her. "If you tell him to do something even to lick your feet, and he protests, you can use the pain inducer at the high level. We Dominants feel pain, but we do not voice our agony until it seers."

She had said, "But he loves me I can't do that to him."

"He'd despise you if you didn't punish him for disobeying. We Dominants are not like you homo sapiens. If we were to protest, you would kill us. We want to survive."

Of course, Miss Parker hardly ever had to use the pain inducer except when Jarod held her without permission, something he never attempted until he was free of that drug. She watched him put the children in their seats, and fasten their seat belts, telling them not to take them off like last time. He then faced her after MacLean got in his seat, bowing slightly, but only his eyes wrinkled. His face remained the same.

_Jarod,_ she thought, _when are you going to get back that childlike smile you had_, but she knew that was lost forever. The Centre had treated him too much like a little boy even when he became a man, so the only time she knew he was happy was when he made a humorous remark.

Jarod was now at the pilot's seat besides Miss Parker. "Obviously, it'll be the last place to look, so we go there first." He pointed to a red dot.


	13. Cast Your Cares

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

March 8, 2007 late evening

Lady M did not think much of San Bernardino. The climate was too dry, making her think of adobe and Mexico, rather than the United States. She wiped her brow, wishing she had worn a sleeveless dress instead of the busy suit she had on. It was quite dark.

It was a good thing, however, that she was thousands of miles away from Delaware and THEM. She never knew how many there were. She thought Raines had taken care of them, selling them off to Africa and South America, but then she shivered. Whoever had them would want to increase his workforce and what if they proved more successful than us? Lady M had seen the statistics. When we breed with THEM, THEY dominate. Was that not the name given by this Attwood? Homo Dominants and he should know. Why he used to be in the Navy Seals, and then he goes to work for this woman who knows about THEM; thinking they could be used in the Space Program.

This made Lady M angry. She wanted to get out of San Bernardino. Now that Miss Parker ran what was left of the Centre, Lady M wanted to find her, to bring her to her senses, and have that Jarod put in the cell where he belonged and they had to find what issue they produced, including that Frederick and Margaret, his sister — imagine Lewison robbing the cradle! They needed only one Pretender. Since Miss Parker and Jarod's issue were Homo Dominants or Progenies, fertile hybrids, there was no need to leave the others alive. Trouble was what one was best suited.

She entered a restaurant with a certain Spanish flair. It had posters of matadors and bulls on the wall, and the menu featured "Authentic Castilian Dishes." They even had a Flamenco dancer, and a man with a guitar. She waited until they seated her, and then saw someone she recognized.

He looked so much like that distinguished man with the light blonde hair, that Roderick, the one she saw at the Centre before Mr. Parker had his heart attack.

She shook her head. No this one was younger and there was another man talking to him, a man with a movie camera. Lady M opened her purse, and using her compact mirror, made a sly glance to see what famous movie or television personality was going to walk through at this moment. Oh if she only worn something more appropriate, a dark suit would not do!

"Excuse me, ma'am could you move over there?" asked the manager, pointing to a spare table near a potted palm. "We're using this for a set of _Cast Your Cares_. You wouldn't object to being an extra. We'll give your meal free."

"I'm very happy here. Surely they won't object."

It was then that she saw the two men looked dangerously at her and felt a cold chill. THEY'RE here! She let the server escort her to her new table, which was not as good as the one she had, now occupied by the actors, a man and woman who sat opposite of each other.

The manager went to the front, after asking if any of the patrons would have any objection to being extras for this scene. They could not do any talking, but mouth their words. There was a scurry as the extras were made up, and to let those who did not want to be on the set, out. Because of this, six others were let in, and the former occupants were moved to the side as well. Two of the six, had won a contest and were allowed to say a few lines such as, "You could've found a better place, Harold, I can't stand these foreigners," and "At least, the company's paying for this trip!" and "And I suppose the company's paying for theirs as well."

The producer was making notes when they would insert the organ music or whatever they used for soap operas now, while the man with the camera moved around, photographing the extras at every angle, but also including the two actors who spoke their lines.

"You shouldn't have brought me out here just for that," said the woman actor.

"I'm afraid you misunderstand. Ever since Nicole drank himself to death after the Creeps cut out Bud's tongue after discovering he was a cop and not the ex-con who shared Louie's cell, we are short of officers of your caliber. You're an attractive woman, Sarah, and you've had dealings with Ben Carver before."

"There's nothing to understand. My mind is made up. I will not go back to working undercover, not after they killed my partner and certainly not against my childhood friend."

The camera was now on the supposedly foreign hating couple, who were getting up to pay their bills, so Lady M used this break to look out the window, as if she could see anything in this light. The streetlights were bright enough, however, for her to see someone she had seen for twenty years, first as a little boy, and then a grown man. It was Jarod and he was heading towards the airport with another man, one with light sandy hair. She started to get up and go to the front when the manager stopped her.

"Sorry not until the set's finished." .


	14. The Obit

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

March 8, 2002 late evening to March 9, 2002 early am

When Jarod sat down in the pilot's seat and looked out the window of the plane, he had no idea why these two men and a security guard were trying to drag this woman back into a restaurant. Perhaps she pretended to get sick to get a free meal and they were on to her or it could be an act. He heard through the San Bernardino grapevine that they were making a prime time TV movie for a daytime television series to introduce a new actor who would be the romantic interest for the female lead who, according to the plot, had lost her partner to a vicious crime lord. Since the producer could not get the regular actress (she was in her ninth month), they had acquired a similar looking actress with an enormous amount of energy for she was also working at the set of a low- level film company.   
As the soap opera was not _Days of Our Lives_, he had no interest in it, and neither did Miss Parker.

The reporter had taken a couple of sleeping pills, and was dead to the world, so Jarod needing to catch up on some knowledge he never got at the Centre, opened his lap top and checked for that particular show.

"What was the name of that show the one with the character named Dwayne?"

Miss Parker yawned. "_Cast Your Cares_. You heard of Mary Worth?"

"No."

"It was a comic strip about this overly helpful woman who butted into everyone's business. Someone had the brilliant idea of turning it into a Soap Opera. Mary Worth meets a widower and finds out his children are not the little angels she supposed they were. Dwayne, the grandson is a drug dealer and wants to keep his job secret from his dying grandfather and his step grandmother, the former Mary Worth because he is—wake up! And turn off the lap top!"

Jarod blinked his eyes. "I was resting my eyes. Soap opera? I'll stick to _Days of Our Lives."_

"When we get to the next town, be sure no one sees you with that camera, you understand me?" She got a nod.

The town they were going to had a yacht club, so which meant that the dead beat might be there. If he were, it would make Jarod's life a little easier. After belonging to Miss Parker was no picnic. She could kill him (or try to) after the appropriate children were born, that is two more sets. Jarod already knew what to do in that situation. He was fast enough to tear off the crucifix and jump far enough way to avoid the explosion and he was certain Miss Parker would only do it if she found herself aging at a faster rate than he. Jarod would have to make sure such a thing never happened. The Medicals had methods to reverse aging, but it applied to their own kind, not to homo sapiens. They might have to make Miss Parker a Dominant, but the only two methods used were unsuccessful. But then, Miss Parker looked younger than she really was. Perhaps the Centre did something to her when she was a child or she had good genes.

Jarod had someone else to worry about, Sam the Sweeper who had been on an extended holiday since before the Official Joining — something about a sick aunt. No one stayed away this long, and Sam probably still believed that Miss Parker had a kill order out for The Pretender. That meant that the aunt must be bedridden or dead, so Jarod had checked the out of state newspapers, looking for the obituary for an elderly woman whose name looked like this Sam's last name. It would no doubt read something like this:

"Miss Sarah — passed away after an extended illness. She will be missed by all. Miss —, a spinster was a member of the Animal Rescue League, The Flower Guild, and Antique Car Show. Until becoming an invalid, she participated in many events. As a young woman, she was the first in Delaware to win the coveted Doohinky Award. Funeral will be taken place at the Bethsada Synagogue on Friday. In lieu of flowers, donations will be gratefully received for the Animal Rescue League. Rabbi Jacob Goldberg proceeding. Burial will be at the Bethsada Cemetery."

He But he found no mention of an aunt or of Sam. San Bernardino only carried the major newspapers, not the small town ones. Was he waiting for them to get back and eager to obey her former Kill order? Jarod had to get Miss Parker's attention diverted so that he took the plane down a bit lower and checked the online local Delaware online newspapers, hoping they had more than "County sheriff fights crime," or "Former Student in District Twenty Middle School does his Best in Olympic!"

"What's wrong with you?" asked Miss Parker. He still had not closed the laptop.

"If anyone else worked for the Centre and was not caught in the takeover, they're going to get it. Do you know anyone Miss Parker? That heavy guy, for instance."

"Oh you're talking about Sam. I guess Roderick and the others made a clean search of the Centre. Anyway, I gave my sweeper some time off. Figured he deserved it. Why?"

"You were on the phone for a bit." He hoped she would not catch him looking through the Online Obituary columns.

"I have a perfect right and remember you're not dead, yet."

"Thanks for nothing. So when are you going to kill me? After we get the dead beat or after the next two quadruplets?"

Miss Parker was rather pensive for her. "I wanted you dead at first when Raines and Lyle told me to do that simulation. It made me sick thinking of getting on top of you, I was already to shoot you, but then I thought well, what a way to make you suffer. You'd be anticipating the bullet to put you out of your misery, but then you wanted me back on you. Puts a whole different angle plus I learned that The Centre told Sydney not to tell you the facts of life."

"So would it have made a difference if you learned this before you started chasing me?"

"I suspected it and it would not have made any difference. You belonged to The Centre and unknowingly to me."

He ignored this last remark for by this time, he had found the correct web site and arranged the laptop so Miss Parker could see the monitor and then went back to the controls.

"It was the curse. You would have never done the things you did otherwise." He looked at her face, seeing the affirmative.

"Well if the curse had been removed before that simulation, I would have still done it, but only to assert my ownership; not to punish you. You realize that, don't you?" She paused. "And then I would have taken out my gun and marched you to the Church and tell the Priest to go through a special ceremony and to be sure that nothing would make you free, would not register the marriage in the court."

"Trouble you did not know about the chip yet."

Miss Parker shook her head. "No, but I'm sure that you would have cooperated nonetheless."

Jarod had to admit he would have. He had been waiting for Miss Parker to put down her gun since she first chased him and to say, "I'm not taking you to the Centre. I want you for myself. Kiss me you fool!" Of course then he would have let her take him in her arms instead of trying the other way around — if it were not for that pain inducer she used all the time he tried without her asking. It stung!

Suddenly they heard a small voice trembling with alarm. "Mother!"

"What is it, Jarvis?" Jarod asked his son as both he and Miss Parker turned around.

"Did twice."

"Did twice what?"

"Mommy shake you twice."

"You're mistaken Jarvis," said Miss Parker, "I did it only once."

"Twice one all red, and one all people."

Miss Parker looked at Jarod. "He has the five minute sense already. "

Jarod by now had put the plane on cruise control and reached for the Dominant book. "I was drugged since I was an infant. Lambourni would know. He never was and he's a Progeny."

She grabbed the book from his hand and started skimming through the pages, looking for anything partially resembling the five-minute warning, but seeing nothing, turned to the children and questioned them.

"Adrian did you see Mother shake Jarod twice?"

Adrian shook his head,

"Did you see anything twice?"

"Angry lady get out twice camera people. Funny once, real next."

Miss Parker questioned the other two and got two different events. Jeremiah did not remember that far back, probably because the Centre may have removed his earlier memories. She turned back to Jarod, glancing at the open laptop. It was there. Sam, the Sweeper, the one who had a family emergency. He did not know about the Centre takeover and the death sentence on the former employees, and now she learned he would not be coming back. He was dead by a cancer that he kept secret. He had no nvalid aunt. He just wanted to get some time off while he prepared for his coming death.

The obituary column mentioned little about him, other than he was a Reformed Jew; his grand parents had died in the Holocaust. Someone had smuggled both his father out and, paid for his education. Later the young man met and married a Ruth Meyer a camp survivor. She died soon after her son's birth and his father became a workaholic, leaving Sam to his own devices, but he seemed to make out okay.

He served in the Vietnam War "with distinction" and eventually a private Think Tank approached him after he unsuccessfully tried to get a job. Vietnam was very unpopular then. Jarod looked at the obit, noting that the services was at the Bethseda Synagogue and burial was at the local Jewish Cemetery near Blue Cove and he knew who had arranged for Sam's father's education and who no doubt kept him from finding any other employment The Centre.

They were now approaching their destination. Miss Parker said calmly as if trying to hold onto her emotions, "I have to make a call, Jarod. Land the plane, get out, take the camera, and pretend like you're a tourist so that dead beat doesn't get wise. I'll look after the children."

The plane skidded to a stop. Jarod got out, leaving Miss Parker and the rest. After giving the usual flight information, etc., he went to a drug store and picked up a pen and notepad, and a book on boats. After this, he started to take pictures, concentrating on the yachts and checked each one on his book.


	15. California Here We Come

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

March 10, 2002

Lambourni hated the Centre for introducing the concept of wholesale bondage to the Dominants, prematurely. The New Species had a few captives, mostly those brave enough to survive the torture, the kind that they would tolerate: no sniveling syncopates for them.

The Dominants had devised a plan to wipe out all Homo Sapiens. First they killed those close to them, making their deaths seem like isolated violent incidents, second they would do the replacement scenario, having one in the Chameleon program take the place of a certain individual, and then go on a murderous rampage and either kill his family, or something horrific like that. During the third step, the Dominants masqueraded as serial killers, and in the fourth step, they contaminated the food supply or introduced a noxious substance in a select group. This latter received careful examination since they did not want the homo sapiens to get wise until it was too late.

They had been on the third step and going into the fourth step in California when they realized they did not need to wipe out the human race since their genes were dominant and even had extended their union with those sapiens of less mental or physical qualities under stringent conditions, of course. So far, none of the inherited disabilities of the sapien side had shown up.

But in Delaware and what other parts of New England, because of the Centre, they had not gone that far and this bothered Lambourni who had this horrible vision of thousands of California blondes with empty brains populating the area.

"So how far has it progressed, here, Lambourni?" asked the older Dominant.

"We are on the second stage, but that is not the purpose of this meeting." He reached into his desk, taking out a metal box with a combination and opened it. "I believe this is the extra amount requested for the Raising." He counted it. It was not the whole amount of one million or one billion, just a token. It was more like the one dollar used to make it legal, for the Council intended that any monies used by the Centre for its evil simulations would be used to pay for "those of our kind unwittingly reduced to chattels and without the mark of such."

"Your honesty will be rewarded, Lambourni since you had no knowledge of your true father," said Paul, the Council member who had come from Nevada to supervise the Centre dealings. "Your position as Advocate is now restored to its fullest capacity and your children free of any lowering, unless they partake in the money vices of the homo sapiens."

"I am honored Councilor Sedona."

It was all formal. Lambourni considered himself an equal to Sedona. It was just that propriety demanded this.

Sedona headed towards the door, with the Advocate following. "Advocate Lambourni, the Council has taken steps to reconstruct your house in New Jersey but I would suggest that by eliminating the ones on either side, we could give you one more in keeping of your status."

"They did not do that in California."

"They did, Lambourni for the elite. Lewis, I believe had his own house, a large one in the country, even the Supreme Chosen had his, the latter burned down, they suspected arson." He sneered. "However, we will make improvements elsewhere without exterminating your neighbors. We must not let the humans, I mean, the homo sapiens, find reason to eliminate us." He left by the front door.

Closing his combination safe, Antonio put back in the drawer, and went out the backyard to survey the neighborhood for any strange law officer or FBI agent who might show up, but all he saw was the neighbor who immediately went over, and asked about that dude.

"He was looking for someone, but got the wrong house."

"But Mr. Lambourni, but did it havta take an hour?"

"I had to get him a map and he didn't just want an ordinary one, I had to print it out. Good-bye."

Satisfied and feeling rather pushed, the neighbor went back to

to repairing his lawnmower while Lambourni looked over his wall much like someone surveying a kingdom Suddenly he sensed someone going up the driveway to Miss Parker's house.

With a bound, Antonio bounded over his stone partition, and in less than a minute was breathing down the intruder's neck before the man took out a key.

"Who are you?"

"Look I'm not armed and my cell phone's ringing."

"Let me see," demanded Lambourni, snatching the cell phone, pressing the on button and handing it back. "All right answer it. Act normal. I don't like thieves. You look familiar!"

Shaking, the man spoke for a minute or so, saying he would call him back and hung up very abruptly for that dark auburn haired stranger had a gun poked in his back and then he turned around.

"Broots? Is that you?" He put his gun away, trying to keep from laughing. The computer had gotten a hairpiece and it did not look good on him. "Why are you here?"

"Miss Parker wants me to come to California with some information about a certain man who ran out on his ex wife and sick kid. She was expecting Sam to do it for her, but he died — of cancer. Say you're a lawyer, what information would she need?"

"Okay I'll follow you."

Once inside, Lambourni went to the desk, having a hard time keeping a straight face, and taking out a pad, scribbled on it a and went to Miss Parker's desk computer. He bypassed the _Cyber Patrol_ password with ease. "She'll need a copy of all the court orders, liens against him, as well as a physical description, DNA information, plus fingerprints so when they catch him, the judge'll say he's the creep. The printer needs more paper and I'll have to set it to legal. I don't suppose they have legal sized paper here."

"I have some at my place."

"Then I will notify Constance to obtain them," said Lambourni, getting on his cell phone and instructing his daughter, "to approach the Broots residence, remove a package of legal paper from his desk, and bring it over here. Caution is necessary." He turned off the phone, waiting patiently for the girl who handed him the package, giving a superior sneer at the Computer Geek, and then she departed in the manner of the Queen of the Universe.

"Do you mean I have to give them to the local judge?" asked Broots after Lambourni had finished typing the necessary information, and making the necessary copies and other legal procedures, handing them over to the Geek.

"Oh she'll have Jarod do that."

"She sure depends on him. So I guess I better get on my way. Someone should look after Debbie."

"I really should go with you, but I have this case coming up. I doubt that we can go the commercial route and I've heard that flying small planes when you're inexperienced is dangerous." He snickered. "Do you know the pilot?" He could

see the doubt in Broots' face.

Lambourni crunched his eyes, bent his head to one side, and looked up as he pretended to do some rather heavy thinking. "Can you fly a plane? You might have to in case you get someone who has designs against Centre employees, even those who specifically worked for Miss Parker."

"I'm not a pilot, not experienced, that is, Mr. Lambourni and I don't want to get behind someone who might shoot me or a suicide bomber."

Lambourni had him convinced. "Don't bother. I can. Wait for me here. Oh and there's a TV dinner in the freezer. That'll keep you busy until I get back. Read this until I get back. It'll tell you more than I have time to." He threw Broots a copy of the Dominant Book and was out the door, up the steep incline and jumping over the stone barrier, leaving Broots to wonder if Dominants ever bothered to open a gate.

"Father did you forget something?" asked Constance. She had four babies in her lap all who emitted a high-pitched cry. Too small to be considered premature, they were correct sized for new born Dominants.

These were not the only small children. Three more sets were busy playing stalking, and pouncing, a natural Dominant past time. They ranged in ages from three down to one year old. None of them of the four sets of quadruplets were identical.

Bill, Constance's husband was doing some legal work for Lambourni for in Dominant homes, the oldest male Dominant had to instruct his new sons-in-laws in the family business which happened to be being an Advocate, the Dominant term for lawyers and because of their age, the young couple stayed with the parents until old enough. In the homo sapien world there were no jobs for twelve and thirteen years old that paid a living wage, yet.

Lambourni's other children were not in. Umberto was delivering subpoenas for the branch in New Jersey, another daughter, Laura, expecting her next set, was helping another new Dominant female learn how to care for hers, and the others of his family were doing various things. As for the females continuing their education, Constance already was working on learning about Family Law. There was an open book on the coffee table.

There was also a Bible and several Christian books. Geraldo was not the only one to have a religious conversion. Lambourni had as well and so did his whole family. The Church for which he belonged insisted that any Dominant engaged couples should be members of their church in order to use their regular Marriage ceremony with the banns and religious instruction done separately so neither could influence the other, only God speaking to their heart.

"What is?" Constance asked again.

"I have to go to California on business. Tell Uncle Ramon to take care of my case. Do you want to go as well?"

"What about the children and why cannot our uncle go as well?"

"We will take the children. Your uncle is needed, besides it is his duty to revenge himself against those who threw him before he was ready to be born in that bin."

"The bodies of his murderers rot along with the others of the Centre and my uncle is now free."

"True, but like all true Dominants, he should have a chance in case the one who tossed him was on vacation," said Antonio, noting his daughter's smile, "I'll see if Geraldo can spare Ethan and Bill can come and I'll ask if Debbie wants to come along. It'll be a good chance for her to learn California law."

"It's not so that you and her father want to get on that computer television program, is it? And why have you not told Lady Angela? Her heels are too high?"

"Very funny, daughter. You almost toppled over in the ones that are now in the closet. You must be able to move fast not stop to glue on a heel. Now get Carla to help you packing." He could see the Mexican girl busy in the kitchen. "I see Frederick's still here. Let me get some ear plugs."

"Oh so Lady Angela can sleep rested."

The very charming Frederick was busy reading the CIA fact book, which had nothing to do with spying, but Lambourni was not going to tell him that. "How's the house hunting getting along?"

"I have ten thousand saved up, Advocate," he said, "and the Council will give me another five on my name day. Not enough."

Lambourni reached into his wallet. "I will be going on a trip and missed your name day. Here's your name gift."

Frederick counted the money, twenty thousand dollars. "Thank you, Advocate." There were no hugs or tears. Dominants never did that.

Broots was still there when Lambourni, Constance, Bill, and the children arrived at Miss Parker's house along with Debbie, and Ethan. Only Sydney was absent.

Lambourni piled everyone in the two cars. Broots started talking about getting on that Computer Television program, Debbie chatted with Constance about that TV Judge, having failed to get her father's permission to get on the audience watching People's Court while the small Dominant children kept bothering Ethan who was reading up on dismantling heat sensitive bombing devices.

Lambourni insisted on flying the plane and Broots decided to let him. He could not argue with a crowd and that newly revised version of the Dominant Book that the lawyer or Advocate lent him, put a new slant on the Centre.


	16. Disguises Don't Always Work

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

March 10, 2007

Miss Parker, hoping that her former driver's family got the sympathy card and the flowers, decided to buy a beach house large enough for a family rather than the small cottage recommended by the real estate agent. She also bought a car, hoping that driving along the coast would make the scumbag who ran out on his wife think that they were following the boats or whatever they called it in California.

Jarod telling her about the death of her mother made her change her mind. True, he gave it to her a piece at a time, but that was as he received it, a piece at a time. She tried to convince Sam of that, the last year of the pursuit, but Sam thought she was getting weak. That was the real reason she let him go to visit his non- existent aunt. She did not want Jarod dead, suffering, but not dead.

"Wait. Something struck me!"

"What is it? You want the chest of drawer moved some place else? And where's that MacLean?" He was getting angry with Miss Parker telling him that it should go to that corner.— no it looks better near the bed — on second thought why don't you move it back were it was. If it were not for the Dominant Book, he would have killed her.

"You know as well as I that when we landed, he spotted that movie star and has gone to get an interview with her."

"Her? Did you see her hair? The red is of an artificial nature."

"Yes. That's reporters for you, the gaudier the better." Miss Parker pointed to the chest of drawers that Jarod was going to move some other place in the room. "Perfect! Keep it there!"

The location was familiar. Of course. It was the first place Jarod had put it. And now that everything was in order, she had to bring up more wounds. "When the Dominants started their uh culling of the Centre staff, they did not just kill them, they butchered their families. When the FBI came in to a few of the houses, they found the only survivors, a six- year girl, a girl of nine, and a teenaged girl of fourteen. I believe the latter was Sammy's illegitimate daughter. Oh he died earlier. Seems to be a pattern."

Jarod sneered. "Missed some."

"No, I think they kept the girls alive to tell us something, but I have no idea what."

Jarod sat down on the couch, half-fuming with anger. "They killed Kyle and if it weren't for you making Raines swear on your mother's Bible, they would have killed Frederick and had they known about Antonio, they would have killed him too."

"Look the Centre kept your other eight children alive."

"And I should be grateful for that? I'd bet Raines planned to tell them that eight were unmarked, and would have pointed them out if he hadn't lost his head."

Miss Parker smiled. "Great pun, Jarod." She became serious, sitting down besides him. He started to unzip his fly. "No, I don't want that. I need proof that Raines actually planned such a thing. The Centre put a lot of money into you, so there's no reason for Raines to kill them, especially since they are also my children."

"Lambourni's almost here anyway and besides Miss Parker, great families eliminated their members to hold onto inheritances and Raines would have balked at having eight more Parkers to divide the company's profits with."

"Is this the five minute sense, Jarod?" She got up from the couch. "I hope the place looks all right. Say how did you know he'd come?"

"He might have read the obit column and found out about Sam's death and probably come here to persuade you not to hire anymore like him, which would mean that he'd convince Broots to let him fly his own plane. He'd take along Debbie as well as some of his children and grandchildren. I'd suppose he'd bring along a card and flowers. I believe he might have a flower shop owner among his clients and would get a discount."

Miss Parker smiled, imagining Lambourni piling all the kids in, and Broots's nose pressed against the window with the crowding him while Antonio did a few of those tricks he learned in the Top Gun program.

"I fail to see your appearance in humor. It's obvious that your Sam the Sweeper had this condition for some time, and that the Centre's medical facilities either did not catch it or did not care."

"I was thinking of Lambourni showing off and giving Broots a heart attack, figuratively, of course."

"I misinterpreted your expression Miss Parker."

"I'll need some extra groceries," she said, going to her purse, "Plenty of steaks, hamburgers, and the usual sweets, ice cream, cakes. Oh and throw some vegetable and salad stuff as well. Believe it or not, females prefer them," and handing him a five hundred dollar bill. "That should be enough. I have to stay here and wait for the mob."

Jarod put on his jacket and headed for the door only to be confronted by a small boy who stared up at him with a "I want to go along as well."

"Jeremiah?" asked his mother.

"I want to see the homo sapien food distribution store."

"Come on then." Jarod picked up his son and walked out to the car.

Miss Parker watched them go, and started to tidy up the house, dusting the furniture, cleaning the bathtub, putting the clothes in the laundry, and finding that made her extremely tired since she was used to her small house and at the Centre they had the cleaning staff to attend to such matters. She sat down for a rest, and turned on the television, but nothing was on so she went back to cleaning the floor. By the time she was done, someone was knocking on the door.

Giving herself a once look over in the mirror, she opened and saw Lambourni and his invading for — correction, part of his family, a stranger who had a hat over his eyes and walked with a slouch, and Ethan. The younger children were quiet, translation: Ethan probably threatened to blow them up if they did not behave.

"Come in, I hope," she said.

"I don't want to bother you," said Antonio, "Oh here's some ear plugs."

Miss Parker took one look at Bill and Constance's four infants. "Thanks. I hope I can hear you after I put these in." She struggled with her earrings.

"Just place the tabbed ends of the plugs up. That will cancel out the high tones. They might help with the problem of you seeing things. You know visions. That usually means you are ultra sensitive to noises in the higher range. Oh do you mind helping with the small ones? Debbie, the Prof, and I are going to San Francisco afterwards. There's a computer show down there."

"I gather you had an ulterior motive other than to help Broots, but I had no idea you were a geek. You don't seem the type. By the way where is Broots?"

"Oh I guess he's around somewhere, so I'd better get things ready. I've a friend who has communion with social services about the ex wife and child. I can transfer the necessary files and have a few more surprises that would be beneficial for you." He opened up his backpack that contained a Think pad, files, a box, and handed her the latter. "I might as well get this set up for you in the living room." He pushed past her, went over to the laptop, and plugged one end of the cord in his computer and one in Jarod's. After, he transferred the necessary files, he opened his box and took out a Cd, handing her the book of instructions. "It's a face recognition program. Since you're in the investigative business, you have your state license, but if you want to use it all over the United States, it's one hundred and thirty dollars, plus twenty dollars for each extra computer. Works in Windows or Mac"

"I wonder if I should try it on you. See what you looked like as a boy," mumbled the 'stranger' after Antonio finished installing it.

"No," he snapped. "Miss Parker, do you have a picture of that creep you are looking for?"

"Jarod has one in the drawer." Going over to it, she took it out, seeing Lambourni turn towards the door. She did not hear anything, but her son probably sensed that Jarod was driving up.

"Where did my progenitor go?" asked Antonio.

"Just went for groceries and took Jeremiah with him."

"The young one needs to outward stimulation, but were something to happen to him, I'd hate to be in that person's position."

"I doubt Jarod would let anyone harm any of his children," said Miss Parker who as she heard the car drive up, and footsteps climbing up the steps, caught a glimpse of the stranger's face, recognizing him as someone she saw everyday at the Centre.

_Some people are not that good at disguises_, she thought and when she caught Antonio snickering and pointing to the hairpiece; she knew he knew as well. Well she was always one for a good laugh and maybe Jarod would not recognize the computer geek, but she was certain, then the door opened and Jarod walked in.

"What's going on?" he asked with a look of middle surprise, as he handed Miss Parker a carton of Baskin Robbins. "I notice part of the tribe out there and Ethan."

"When you have very dangerous kids, have someone who's a demolition expert to watch them," said Lambourni.

Jarod recognized Broots instantly, and had he not been a Dominant and an excellent Pretender, he would have dropped the packages and let out a roar of laughter. Besides seeing Miss Parker's failing attempt at trying to keep under control, he decided to have a little fun at the situation. "So you're Broots's brother, Ron or is it Ronathon," he said with the appropriate expression.

Miss Parker could not hold out any longer. She excused herself, went into the bathroom, practically convulsed with laughter, washed her face, reapplied her makeup, and came back a few seconds later after taking a couple of deep breaths, and thinking very serious thoughts to keep from doing it over again.

"Broots is sort of, say, ordinary. His brother's better looking in a scruffy sort of way, although I can't say much for the hair. It reminds of the style worn by, what you call them, aged hippies. They stank, but although they had their hair long, they kept it in a precise condition. Miss Parker you should know of these things about the Flower Children Movement, a short period in American History following the nineteen fifties which…."

Miss Parker was beginning to enjoy this. "I do. San Francisco used to be a hangout for the hippies. I remember hearing from Willard that he saw you in San Francisco, some time about four years ago, but by the time we found out, you disappeared. He questioned them in case you showed up. Wait a moment! Willard told me of a Mike what was it, Sanders? He's out of the movement, into construction and might recommend a good barber."  
She pretended to turn on her cell phone when —

Broots took off his headpiece. "It's me, Broots!" He took one look at their faces. Even, Jarod was smiling. "You knew all along!"

"There was no aged hippie case in San Francisco," said Jarod.

"I knew it."

Jarod and Miss Parker then got down to business. Miss Parker wanted to know if the Dominants cleansed the Centre of its former influence. Broots said it had, that they had already checked the client list and crossed off those of a world domination nature and tyrannical bent. The staff was now searching for appropriate organizations, although those whose members voted Republicans were giving preference and since Lambourni was a Republican; that was natural.

The Centre still used Pretenders, but Lambourni suggested that part of the grounds be used so they could get some sunshine. However, the Centre policy in keeping them isolated, still applied. That bothered him, but not Miss Parker.

"Why are they not allowed to see their reflection?" asked Broots.

"We have to wait until they are past the age of sensing they are not property," said Miss Parker.

"But Jarod knew what he looked like."

"He thought he did, until he escaped and saw his real reflection and we know how that turned out. All right, I'll set a time of fifteen years. That will ensure they concentrate on their work, and since it appears Lambourni does not want Pretenders working alone, a light punishment for those who tell their companion what they look like and see that all walls are painted a matte finish, puddles wiped up immediately, and anything that might show their reflection dulled or removed. I gather the connection still works."

Lambourni and Broots got on the latter's computer, it being that the Advocate's was fill of lawyer stuff, drafts of writs, legal documents, and other stuff he did not want others to see. The lawyer did do much of the writing, suggesting cleaning toilets and other disgusting duties, something not even a slave Dominant wanted to do, since they had a keener sense of smell than Sapiens.

The suggestions were Okayed, but they learned there was still trouble. It had to do with the now chief Pretender, Ted, who was writing on the walls, "We will rule in the kingdom of Man!" was being erased or wiped out minutes after he wrote it.

"They're still disappointed in him," Broots said, looking at Lambourni.

"Disappointed? From what you told us, Ted has a room just above the sub basement, with sunlight coming in the morning, a mate. What do you call them, Antonio?" asked Miss Parker.

"Mate will do. She is his female even though she had no choice. They went through the Joining later. Free Dominants of the lower classes go through the Union. It's something like you going to the Church and not being able to afford a ceremony. No wedding dress, no good suit, just your waitress uniform and the man or boy in his work clothes."

"I get the picture and their parents have already taken out the shotgun but were too late."

"Correction. The A.K.A.747," said Lambourni.

"So why are they disappointed in Ted?" she asked.

"Ted has the bar chip code in him and he already got a mate, that French Pretender girl. I believe Lyle arranged it."

"So he has someone to sleep with at nights and to have sex with. What's wrong with that?"

"The Dominant Council said that they'd be designated as potential Favorites for those Dominants who lost their spouses or were financially set to keep one. We already have enough soldiers and scientists and enough slaves."

"What has Ted to do with this? I thought you people wanted to reproduce."

"Yes we do, but that means two who will not be a concubine or a favorite of some wealthy Dominant or sapien who is a friend of a dominant. That would mean at least eight Dominants not being in the middle class." He moved his head slightly.

Broots was jumping up and down, now without the wig, trying to get his attention.

"Antonio."

"What?"

"He's the one who told Cox that Raines was planning to kill the Pretenders in the Inner Sanctum."

"So why is this important?"

"His trainer worked near the Inner Sanctum, and Ted saw Raines going in and out when he was a boy. I-I heard this from Gino. When Gino w-worked for Cox, h-he was his driver."

"I know," said Miss Parker, "and Jarod did as well. So what's this to do with Ted? All I heard was he spoke to Gino."

"Ted made Cox a duplicate of the key to the Inner Sanctum that he stole from Raines's office, and returned it. In gratitude, Cox gave him regular food every time the doctor went in to check the babies, unknown to Raines. It-it wasn't just Giuseppe and his brother because they couldn't, Lyle would have gotten mad."

Lambourni sneered. "I believe that Ted has risen in the estimation of the others. I will get the word out. Now Jarod, Lady Angela, we can get to business about this evil Sapien who defrauded his former wife and child."

No one spoke about Sam though, which was well because had the obit been false, Jarod and his offspring would have been in danger.


	17. The Gift

eCHAPTER SEVENTEEN

March 11, 2002 Sunday

_It was a good interview_, thought MacLean. The actress was quite polite, having years of theatrical training before moving to Hollywood. She and her fiancé had been recently engaged but wanted to keep it secret until she finished her next movie. He was working for a rival company and she did not want to compromise anything.

"So when did you first meet?" MacLean had asked her.

"At a benefit dinner for orphans," she said, showing perfectly white teeth. She had been born in Kentucky of a poor family and the studio had spent thousands on dental implants and caps to replace her broken, decayed, and missing teeth. "Bradley and I were taken with each other. He came from Tennessee, poor white trash as I was."

MacLean would not know it if he had not done his research. Her accent was so upper class and her manners divine. The actress who had starred in a few local- good—girl- leaves- her- small- town- meets –with- a- cad,- and finally- marries- a- decent- cowboy-movies was a Baptist as was Bradley, and like him, had grown up with old country values. To this date, they had not slept together. The wedding would be next year when the movie would be finished. "And what if it does not?" he asked, knowing that things happened.

"Well I guess we had better elope," she said with a laugh.

As it was, the interview went successfully. She got up to leave and that is when MacLean saw him. He checked his pocket, taking out the photograph. Yes, tall, pale skin with freckles, and blue eyes. Only he had brown contact lenses and that blonde definitely was a wig because the man in the photograph had a receding hairline and his natural hair color was light reddish brown not yellow. It was the Dead Beat. The reporter started to get up, but it was too late. By the time, he reached the door and paid the tab, the tall man had left.

MacLean was sure that Miss Parker and Jarod would be disappointed so he decided to get them, especially, Jarod a little gift. The book on Scottish history would do for Miss Parker, and what he got from the men's department would do for Jarod.

He drove to Miss Parker's beach house just in time to see the lawyer and Broots plus (it looked like a population explosion) Ethan, Debbie and several children. He told Miss Parker of seeing the scum, but he got away before he could corner him and handed them the packages. Miss Parker was pleased to get hers, but Jarod's eyes lowered as he handed his back.

"What you don't like it?" asked MacLean.

Miss Parker pushed Jarod aside, and took MacLean to a corner. "He can't accept it."

"I thought it would keep his clothes cleaner."

"MacLean, you know what Jarod is. Do I have to spell it out for you? Starts with an S, the second letter's an L. He's supposed to be ready when I want it, do you get my drift? Look take it back to the store, I'll give you some money," she said, handing him a slip of paper. "That's his size. He can wear navy, black, or blue and he does need a new jacket. Make an excuse, the wrong size, color, anything."

After Jarod told him that the jacket had to be easy fitting with a lining, deep inside pockets, two outside pocket he could put his hand in (_and also keep a weapon concealed_), stain resistant (_blood stains and gun powder slides off_), the reporter got in his car and drove back to the commercial district.

Once back in the store, he told the salesclerk that it was the wrong size and the man preferred to buy his own. MacLean then went looking in the jacket department.

The money he had was the right amount and the saleswoman who had excellent taste said that, "this one looks perfect. You say he's tall, brown hair which turns auburn in Summer and brown eyes with beige to olive skin? We do have it in a taupe, but I would suggest the dark navy blue." She opened it to show the lining "Hand stitched. It's a classic and note the inside pockets have enough room to put his passport and wallet, plus it has two packages of extra buttons not just a few, and if he runs out, the number's on the ticket and they're always in stock. Shall I wrap it or do you want it in a bag?"

"Wrap it please."

"Thank you. I hope your brother will be very pleased."

MacLean hoped he would not have to lie again. It would have been easier a few years ago when men buying something for other men were not suspected of something else.

He bought some sandwiches, not wanting to impose that much on Miss Parker. She did have that whole 'nation' that had invaded her and from what he suspected, they were mostly Dominants with the extremely large appetites. The warning he and the other reporters received from the government that it was "either them or us' did not apply just to the Dominant tendency of taking out guns and shooting every human in sight or breaking their necks. Their metabolism was faster and they did not have the feast or famine gene that many homo sapiens had.

He drove past a Church, seeing the message on the billboard on Acts 16. This was a sure sign there were Dominants in the area. This Church had preached a series of sermons on John and now suddenly it was changing to the story of responsibility in running your household. MacLean remembered because he had done an article called "The differences between the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Churches. Which one leads to God?" And this particular Church was featured as an example of its denomination. He wondered when ministers would preach on "servants obey your masters in the flesh," and not apply it to the employer and employee relationship.

When MacLean saw the Dead Beat, he was walking south. Taking out his pocket the reporter checked to see if there were anything of significance like a yacht club in that area, but the club Jarod had already checked, was to the west of the town. Dead Beat would have to go considerably out of his way past the private beaches to get there from here. This meant that Dead Beat had come here from another town. MacLean had a convincing feeling that it was to the South, but there was still that small town with the yacht club to the North. Besides, he knew there was a computer television show in San Francisco and since Broots and Lambourni wanted to get in on the audience, they would want to go to the town in the North.

However, the Dead Beat could leave his area and head back North, while they were going south, and yet he had not made a move. This meant that the town in the South, Saint Pedro or Paul (MacLean was not sure which) and it had to have a compelling reason for Dead Beat not to leave. MacLean decided to check up on it as soon as he got back to the beach house.

Jarod was pleased with the jacket even though it really was not his, but Miss Parker's and he did let MacLean use the computer, but not for long.

The next morning, everyone took off for San Francisco. The Hertz people felt that God had smiled on them. Imagine renting two of the high end Cadillacs! The girl at the counter beamed as she handed them the customary insurance forms, a brochure of the finest restaurants, and everything necessary for Lambourni, Broots, and Ethan who now, thank to the Mechanic, had his own driver's license with Ethan di Angela on it.

The only one disappointed was Debbie. She had been looking to get on the TV Judge show.


	18. A Meeting Revealed

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

With the cylinders safe in the trunk of his car, Paul motioned the young Dominant who brought Lupe over. "Shane, get these to the Council."

"What about the humans? They tried to kill the Chosen and you know the Council and I do not think the same," said Shane while Lupe transferred the cylinders from Paul's car to his.

"That human female, the one who pulls Attwood's strings, presumed to make Progenies. We know of those raised by humans, most are dangerous. The exception being of course Lambourni whose mind is…" He moved aside while Lupe locked Shane's trunk.

"Taken over by Diablo," Lupe blurted out.

"Only the Council makes the final decision, and few of them know about demon possession and you have been with us since a girl. Has anyone other than us talked to you?"

"The cinema. John looks at it. Documentaries."

"Ah part of his training and Shane I want you to investigate this demon possession, something peculiar to the humans, although in time we may be attacked, Lambourni being the exception."

Dominants never experienced that sort of thing. However, the ills of humankind had yet to fall on them. He also knew they could sense illnesses in their own species that humans were unaware of; small variations, perhaps an inability to sense someone coming four minutes and fifty- nine seconds rather than the usual five, hearing someone from ninety yards away rather than two hundred yards, needed eight hours sleep rather than six hours. Even a minor quirk left them vulnerable.

"I will do that, but as for these, the Council has scattered since the Diaspora," said Shane, "and we need all of them to determine the fate of these future Dominants." He used the term the Dominants used for the unborn.

"Roderick, a senior member of the Council, might be in San Francisco," said Paul, "He wishes to share in the knowledge of the Chosen's rescue. The humans have taken him to a safe place. Gregory is in Brownsville, Texas, Elliot in Las Vegas. Take this cell phone. It is on Roderick's frequency. Drive along the highway. He will start up and meet you in the middle." He handed him the cell phone. "After giving the message, destroy it so the humans cannot trace it."

Shane talked on the cell phone and then taking out his disposer, reduced it to ashes, which he scattered into the air. "He fortunately had no reached San Francisco, but took a detour to San Bernardino. He has started east on the highway." The young man got in his car and drove away.

Paul got in his Lincoln with Lupe in the passenger seat. He drove for a while, seeing a couple of Marines under the command of the cousin questioning two other men. One of the men wore black sunglasses, the New Yorker also known as Mac the Knife. In a minute, they had the latter in handcuffs and escorting them to a jeep. The Military was cleaning up the mess.

In a moment, one of the Marines came over, and pulled the same routine that got the other two in trouble. "What's your purpose here?"

"I'm looking for my daughter, Anna Sedona," said Paul, "she's an actress. I believe she's with the _Terra Firma Movie Company_."

"They're shooting near Area 51. You'd better be careful. Just keep in the prescribed areas and you'll be fine."

After thanking him and driving off, Paul stopped at the motel where Attwood's group had been, a favorite of out of town visitors considering the family oriented meal in the adjoining restaurant. He was sure Walter Attwood, the nemesis of the Dominants, would not deign to stop in a motel whose clients used the name of Smith or Jones with alarming regularity. It would be a simple matter to find out the names of those two, who thwarted his purpose, and just left him with a cringing scientist to kill.

He entered the office, looked around for a map, and asked for the only one not in the display. While the manager searched in the back, Paul looked through the guest book, and found a name, Gerona. He then went to the phone booth, and started searching. The name Gerona was there, but no address.

"Here you are sir," said the manager.

"I'm looking for a friend of mine, Enrique Gerona. I can't see his address nor telephone number."

"That's because they're in Area 51. Hush hush. You can't get there without a pass."

"Where can I get one?" asked Paul.

"On the base," was the reply.

"Thank you." That human was not much help. Paul went to the car. "If Anna's not at the shoot, we might have to get in this Area 51. She should have asked the Council first. If she wanted to be a Chameleon, they would've approved."

"And the other one? The one we had to give away?"

He glared at her. "Remember what happened when we first caught you?"

The woman shuddered, but remained calm, remembering the torture, the electric shocks, almost having her arms ripped off, and that thing one of them held that caused unbearable pain. She remembered screaming and her captors not caring, just smiling, and one of them was the man besides her and she was now his favorite, the highest fate of human women captured by the Dominants.

"As in a nightmare." She brought up the subject of her weak child. "Maybe her dominant side remained dormant until now."

"I do not think so. You were half-starved when you gave birth to her. The damage was permanent. Let the humans raise her as their own. It will be for the best." He took a sandwich out of a paper bag and gave it to the woman. "This Sloan seems interesting and this Walter Attwood, the man who announced our presence, too powerful to kill without notice."

The woman wondered why they were here. This was so far out of reach to find a woman with stars in her eyes, the human side, mingled with the Dominant intelligence. It had been a lucky break, she assumed, finding the rescuers of Tom Daniels, the Chosen.

The Dominants, however, took nothing to chance. They had helped in the rescue, the captors of the Chosen, dead. No one knew who fired the first shot or snapped the first neck.

Paul set up sentries, watching the routes to see where Walter, Ed, Sloan, and Ray would go. The latter took another route, to get his wife and son and meet the others later.

Previously, the Council had informed Paul that Attwood hoped to establish another safe house here in Nevada. He learned there were three others, one in Denver, the other in Las Vegas, and one in Houston. As for Sloan's apartment, it was now the Los Angeles headquarters for the Council, Lewis's family having paid for the whole block. They made it out as a behest from Sloan's late boss. She would never suspect anything, but Attwood did. The heavy man had gone to Marcus's group who denied having anything to do with it

Now the Dominant plan was simple: to keep track of their enemy and what better way then to monitor the building where Sloan used to live. They could then wait, listen in via the radio, television, and the cable line and be prepared to escape when Attwood's group made another foray against them.

They had planned to rescue Tom, showing him how treacherous the humans were and then this Attwood and his gang showed up. The Dominants managed to eliminate a few of the captors, but two brothers sprung Tom from his cage, and did the majority of the killings. He was quite weak, possibly drugged. Once they found who instigated this, that person or persons would meet a horrific fate


	19. Scientific Experiments

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Mar. 12, 2002

Back in Blue Cove, Roderick greeted Paul, and after a few words of the usual salutations referring to their destiny as leaders of mankind, took out the Council's disc of the airport meeting and lowering his voice just a slight, demanded, "So you did see Lady M. Why did you not eradicate her or delay her at least where I could have the honor?"

"The willing calf climbs more readily into the rope, Roderick," Paul sneered as he put down his briefcase, took out a cellphone, and opened the back cover to show a small object the width of a fine needle, "I decided to create an illusion to betray her. I planted this on her when she was not looking. By now, our Species will know where she is."

"And the tracking device is undetectable?"

"—to the Sapiens, yes. The mechanics worked well in creating it."

They walked down the street, mimicking the actions of humans who had not seen each other for years, the hugs, the smiles, the recollection of events such as football games, high school reunions, and on occasion when someone got too close, saying something like, "And I thought you were going into advertising!"

"Frederick's almost saved for his house," said Roderick.

"—ah yes, I know the son of Lady Angela and her Favorite. That makes him of the Raised Class. Because of his progenitor, he is not of the Chosen, nor is Jeremiah for that matter. There are particular dwellings in Blue Cove and in Delaware since we have our presence here."

"The Council is adamant on this tenet, Paul. The children of Lady Angela and Jarod will never have ownership of what Sapiens call mansions or castles. These only are for those like us who are born free. Frederick and his concubine and their children, and his personal bond male, Giuseppe, and his female who has already conceived, need a place suitable for their state."

"I know he cannot be eligible for a house suited for one born of free parents, but it doesn't say what style of house. We can perhaps give him a split- level, the appearance of wealth but at a reasonable price," Paul said, "and one can build suites in the basement so if they need to destroy the top level, they can hide where at least, Frederick's children will be given accommodation."

"Lambourni has a mansion that the Centre gave him to lure him to their cause and failed. We will give the house to Geraldo. He will not object and I am sure Lambourni will like that house we built back in New Jersey. I have already sent workers to make it more amenable to one of greater wealth. Lambourni will keep his name on the title and his other sons already have their houses assigned."

No one else wanted the one in Blue Cove except Geraldo who having been in Mexico knew nothing about his four infant true siblings almost dying in New Jersey. Besides, they were now all right, and Lambourni had blackmailed The Centre to build this house in Blue Cove to his specifications and sent them the bill, which rather angered the Parkers.

Miss Parker had figured it did not concern her that since this Lambourni was going to be a Centre lawyer, he did deserve a rather luxurious estate. Raines, however, was furious and could have arranged for Lambourni to, conveniently disappear or wind up drowned in the bay, but he was dealing with a Mafia mouthpiece and ambulance chaser even though a minor one.

Raines's underling, "Mini me' as Antonio Lambourni had called him, told his master, "There would be too many questions and the lawyer mailed out copies of the same letter to various organizations with the 'In case of my death or eventual disappearance'…"

"We all know the story," said Roderick, after hearing Paul's rather accurate account about Lambourni's Blue Cove mansion, the steps he took to ensure that it rivaled even Mr. Parker's house and that it was the type movie moguls wanted to show as a typical residence of an evil crime lord intent on world domination. He did not question how his true associate who usually traveled between Las Vegas and Los Angeles knew these things. Paul being head of the Chameleon Program was able to get information where few could. "How are you going to replace the house, considering the restraints?"

"We decided that the New Jersey house had a swimming pool, done in early twentieth style, so we decided to retain that as fitting to Lambourni's status."

The house was old, equivalent to a three-room house with a furnished basement, but Paul had decided on a few improvements. Those humans who visited Lambourni did not have the tolerance to the elements, "as we do, so we have used the super-insulted panel equivalent to those of the Northern regions of this planet. The rooms will then be enlarged and if the Sapiens inquire, we will install certain equipment to make them believe the floors are heated." With recessed lighting, bookcases to hide hidden rooms, computer, and work- rooms appearing as of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the design, "will make the Advocate pleased and he is the Chosen of the New York, New Jersey. One must stay close to his territory." He gazed at one of the houses where a young Dominant was busy adjusting the cables to the Dish on the roof. "I see Giuseppe's quite busy. Soon no matter how far the humans hide, we will be able to find them."

HeHjjH opened the door to their headquarters. They walked down the corridor and entered a room where male and female Dominants were engaged in their next project. There were also Homo sapiens in the room, but they were not in the position to do anything. One was strapped to a table and another to a chair with electrodes attached to their bodies. Both were unclothed.

"How is it going?" Roderick asked one of the Dominants.

"We duplicated the human version of the Neogeneis drugs used on our captive brethren to remove what they consider most favorable, free will. Humans value that most. I believe that he is ready. The one seated now has his intelligence but is like an animal in choice of will." The Dominant clapped his hand and the one in the chair removed his electrodes. "Now cut off your right finger."

The man obeyed.

"And your right hand, throw it on the floor and now put your arm up to your elbow in the sink, the one filled with water."

He did so. They waited, for even though the man screamed, he willingly held his hand in that position until the water had turned to blood and at last, he collapsed, dead, his arm hanging into the sink.

"Who was he?" asked Paul Sedona.

"He was a Centre sweeper as is the other one. We have another test planned for him and so have kept him at one point zero. I am sure Jarod, if he were here, would appreciate it. I have heard that sapiens cannot control their emotions."

"A weak species," said Paul, "with certain exceptions."

"Like your concubine who perished. I console you on your loss."

"She did save my grandchildren from Kevin, a rogue like Randall Lynch was. I curse him. Now why would Jarod appreciate this?" It was then he turned to see a beautiful female Dominant enter the room.

"Clarissa is ready for conception and has agreed to take four of our orphaned small ones as return for the task. You might enjoy the irony of the human subject. Protected by a mother who hated the touch of her mate; kept from a certain education course designed to show young humans the errors of choosing a wrong partner and a life of amusement; if he did mate with a female and his memory was erased as in the case of Jarod, we could not ascertain. He did join a monastery, one that encouraged the life of a hermit."

"A most amusing scenario," said Paul, "I suppose he was unfit for the strict life of the monastery."

"Yes. He was too eager to kill— a perfect candidate for the Centre, too bad for him."

They watched with impassive eyes as Clarissa ran her hands over the strapped man, watched as she aroused him, and got on him. He moaned in ecstasy as her hands found sensitive parts of the victim, using them, her hands brushed his chest as he voiced his delight. Her lips kissed his, her lips gradually going over each part of his body, her tongue licking him, and her eyes watching that part below his waist.

"The reaction of humans, so uncivilized, so barbaric," said Paul. "We would have more control."

She continued with her attack, the victim's penis swelled to almost bursting as he hoped for the final release that did not come. By now, his eyes filled with fear and panic and he moaned, "Please!" that brought a sneer to the two watchers. Still, she continued with the hardened kisses, the cruel lips, the roving hands.

The Dominant experimenter spoke coolly as if discussing a harmless scientific experiment. "Clarissa is waiting until he feels horrific pain. Look at his eyes and the monitor, his heart. Rapid movement, the results of intense activity. Most die unless they are prepared."

Now it was assumed that Dominants could go longer than Sapiens in the manner of intercourse and that they could attain the heights without the torment. However, it was not so. Dominants felt as much pain when not getting relief from intercourse as the rest of mankind. The one thing separating them from the rest of humanity was their relentlessness in wishing to torment past the point of extreme agony. Of course, this did not apply to their true spouses, but only to their captives, pets, slaves, and even Favorites and only a Favorite of the New Species could endure it. There were exceptions, but they were unusual. It was said that such carried the future seed of Dominants and after two of three generations, their descendants would be the New Species without venturing into Dominant held territory.

"What about Rick, given to Pamela when we rescued the Chosen?" asked Paul.

The victim felt as if he would burst and Clarissa held the man's hands tight so he could not alleviate his agony. They wrinkled at the smell for the Dominant female waited until the last possible moment to attempt conception. They would need a major clean up. Homo Sapiens were so filthy.

"Rick? Pamela is as good as Clarissa. Of course, he was prepared and told what would happen to him. I heard she has him now licking her feet," said Roderick.

"Very appropriate actions for a Favorite and more I suppose."

"Unlike the male consorts of our own species, the humans need alcoholic stimulants when certain actions are performed observed, but a few beatings convinced Rick. I watched her overlapping his penis and the medicals made sure he did not remove himself. Pamela has already borne two sets of small ones. The first are already in the Progeny program. We will rule in the Kingdom of man." Roderick now turned to the reactions of the former sweeper.

"Please no! Don't," screamed the captive, but Clarissa was merciless, working on his male member, increasing the blood supply and thereby its size.

"He can't last long. It will not be pleasant. Do you wish to observe closer his misery?"

"I have half forgotten how imperfect a species these Sapiens are," said Paul.

They came closer and listened to Clarissa explain the captive's reaction. "He pants like a rotten pig," she said as she manipulated the man's reactions.

It could not last long, they knew. When it was over, Clarissa just kicked the man's body to the floor where Roderick vaporized it. "And homo sapiens believe they get to heaven by this method. A fantasy for something used to procreation."

With the instinctual knowledge of all Dominants, Clarissa proclaimed the results. "I have conceived. What will be their fate?"

"We will see they are never Raised," said Roderick to the woman who nodded. "We need a new stock of clerks and drivers. Perhaps I will suggest this to Lambourni."

"We will wait for his return, but I heard he says we have enough drivers in those personally owned. Male children conceived by the humans who willingly worked for the Centre can be Favorites, but their issue will never be free through perpetuity. Female children will be joined with other slaves and none of their descendants will be given the honor of being a Favorite. They will do the more menial tasks such as digging the foundations for our establishments. Let that be a payment for the captivity of our brethren," said Paul.

"But we must not punish Sydney, Broots, and the others who loathed the Centre's treatment. Perhaps you shall tell them of their good fortune that any offspring they have will not have to clean the latrines or such disgusting tasks."

"Better keep that silent," said Roderick. "Let them cower in fear and then grovel at our feet before we reveal this to them."


	20. About Debbie's Marriage

CHAPTER TWENTY

March 13, 2007

By now, Miss Parker and her company were in the Northern town after having seen San Francisco. Jarod had returned from investigating the Yacht club, showing photographs of Dead Beat, while Miss Parker had come back from doing the social circuit, enjoying being the proud mother, taking the children to this event and that and hearing the "aren't they little darlings," from the blue haired set.

Lambourni and Broots remained in the Foggy City, trying to get on as guests of the Computer show, having already made a sign, which Jarod was certain would hide most of them. He was certain that Antonio, especially, was well known to the Feds and he hoped he would not be hauled before the Justice Committee.

As for Debbie, Mr. MacLean knew some in this town who gave her a tour of their family court, and let her listen in on their cases, that is, after censoring the rougher stuff. They gave her several pamphlets with titles such as _Your Family Court in Action,_ _Tough Love in Today's Society_, or _What It Takes to Be a Judge_. He was appalled to learn that Debbie was already pregnant. However, because of the small size of the Dominant babies, she would not show until her seventh month and those long skirts the Dominants favored would hide the pregnancy until delivery. An early teen girl with a pregnancy common in poorer girls, not a well brought up part Catholic, part Jewish girl of middle class parents and she had to marry in a Protestant church!

She told him of the court ship, that she fell madly in love with Antonio, and that he was always there and when he had told her father that he was going to marry her. Broots had objected, but Lambourni had told him that Deborah needed protection and no one even in the Centre would dare to eliminate the wife of a Dominant.

"When did this happen?"

She shrugged. It was a young girl's shrug, the don't care attitude, and her reply showed nonchalance. "We stopped in Kentucky when Antonio was going to Los Angeles before Mr. Parker had his heart attack. I had my wedding dress in the suitcase. He had already called ahead."

"Why didn't anyone notice?"

"Why should they? I was still at school and Antonio was working at home. He'd come after working on that column, pick me up to take me to church, but we didn't tell dad where the church was. We had to get the banns announced three times." She showed a picture of her wedding dress. It was white, had a veil and a train. One of Lambourni's daughters had seen a pattern for a prom dress and adapted it for a wedding. "But the wine tasted strange and we had chocolate cake as well as the wedding cake."

"Did you go to the justice of the peace?"

"Antonio said that was just for poor people. We were married at Hofveister's Dutch Reformed Church in Codney's Grove. I remember that because the town used to be called Hofveister, but they changed it to Codney Grove because the new people could not pronounce it, so they had a vote, but they kept the Church name the same because they would have to spend years getting approval plus they needed a new roof."

Now Codney was a man who owned an orchard and he died in the Civil War, when he ran between the battle lines because one of his brothers was on the Union side and the other was a Reb. Unfortunately, the order to fire the cannon had already come from the Union Side and he was blown to bits. No one knew if his brother had fired the shot, since he later died on Sherman's March of cholera, but because of this tragic event, in the late nineteen forties when the soldiers returned from the war, the townspeople decided to rename the town.

This little bit of history was only mildly interesting to the reporter who learned of Debbie's annoyance that her husband, according to Dominant custom, had asked an

older Dominant girl and her husband to move in with them and teach Debbie how to be a mother, since she was equivalent to a Dominant girl of eight or nine, the ages where they usually started to give birth. Young Dominant mothers wanted to go out stalking with their associates just as much as teenage Sapien mothers wanted to go out partying with their friends. It was natural and I suppose that young Neanderthal mothers would have rather slid down the ice rather than attend to their newborns back in prehistoric times. As for school, Debbie did not have to sit with the unwed mothers. She had a wedding ring and she did act mature for her age.

Once the babies were born, as was also their way, Debbie would learn in house under her husband's supervision, but right now (except for this trip), she was enrolled in the school work program in the legal division. Most of the time, it was minor stuff, but Antonio was giving her a heads up that the talk was of Harvard.

As for Miss Parker, she was becoming more uncomfortable even though she was not showing. It was into the fourth month. Miss Parker would still refuse Jarod taking the initiative in holding her unless she allowed him and since he was a Dominant, he was certainly persistent and that pain shocker did not phrase him.

At this moment, he was showing her the information he gleamed from that yacht club while putting his left arm around her shoulder and she was trying to remove it.

"I asked the manager if they had that type of cruiser," he said wincing slightly at the pain from the controller, "but they said it would be best to go to San Pedro."

She looked at him. "San Pedro? Isn't that—"

"Not that one. This one's San Pedro by the Bay. It's close to Los Angeles but still in San Bernardino County. People assume it's a suburb and no one bothers to correct them."

"So it would be a bedroom community." She put her controller away. Jarod was not bothering her, really. She just wanted to usurp her authority. "I wonder what Blue Cove was assumed to be the bedroom community of."

"The capital of Delaware?"

"Delaware is a very small state." He went on the laptop, trying to find an enlarged map of the town. "I'll have to take an area of the County and increase the zoom rate. I guess it's not important enough for _Map Quest_."

"And just the type of place Dead Beat would go to."

Jarod copied the enlarged area, filling in where San Pedro by the Bay would be, taking in account its contours. Making plans to capture Dead Beat would be a great undertaking except Jarvis was climbing up on him, Patricia was tugging at his shirt, and the other two were scrapping with Jeremiah. At least Miss Parker did not have her hands where they should not be when little ones were about. MacLean gathered doing so might harm the children.

"Two days from now," said Miss Parker.

"Better make it tomorrow morning. There's a regatta going along the California Coast the next day. I think that's what Dead Beat was waiting for," he said, suddenly getting up, which sent the two flying and Jeremiah and the others standing there with their mouths open. After he sat back down, the kids were quiet. It was sure different when you had your own. Jarod was now seriously considering military school or at least a boot camp.

"There's something that's bothered me."

"Well," said Jarod, "it's obvious that the Dead Beat's accent would be recognizable in his home state. Here with the Okie invasion during the nineteen thirties as well as other immigrants, no one would notice"

"Not that. When Raines trained the clone, Gemini, he wanted him to have no emotions, but your kind is lacking in them anyway, so…"

"The drug makes us like you, with the same physical weaknesses and inability to sense danger imperfectly. When he got tired of them, he could kill them or Lyle would since they were father and son."

"Raines was my father too, Jarod."

"Ah but Mr. Parker raised you and so did your mother. I bet you knew when something was wrong, something evil in you that you wanted to go away."

"Many times. To think I came from a family of cowards." It was as if she just realized it. They could have kept the Pretenders as Dominants. They knew about their sense of honor, but Raines did not want anyone stronger than he. "Jarod, hold me. I feel if you don't; I could kill someone."

He grabbed her in his arms and they lay on the bed. "So could I," he said, glaring at the children who started pouncing on them, playing stalking "Now get to bed all of you."

Jeremiah just smiled and the others giggled. "Father feel affection for mother," said Adrian, using the Dominant term for love.

"That's right," whispered their mother, "now get to sleep."

They did right there on top of the bed. Miss Parker just sighed. It was going to be one of those nights.


	21. The Sweeper's Return

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

March 13,2007

Back in Blue Cove, the stocky dark haired man drove up to the Centre, wondering why it looked so different. He really should not have faked his own death, but it was necessary. He had seen too much and even Miss Parker could no longer protect him.

The change all started with the escape of Jarod. At first, he had hated him, running away from his responsibilities, and when Miss Parker would come in after an unfruitful search with remarks on what the Pretender did, he started to change his mind, but not completely. As far as he was concerned, the Pretender belonged in the lab, preferably in a cage and let out only occasionally for the simulation and whatever the Centre wanted to do to the Centre's most valuable possession.

He had also received information through the Centre hot line, a system of communication that all employees or former employees received that the Centre's new corporation lawyer had unlocked the door to his office and was taking work in the house the Centre provided for him.

All at once, everyone in Blue Cove received broadband, DSL, as well as satellite and DTV, the dark haired man suspecting that the lawyer had some pull in Time Warner, DTV, Road Runner, or one of the other important cable and DSL companies. No one had to depend on fire wire, or steal the Centre's lines (as Jarod had done.) Now, information the Centre had blocked previously flowed freely like mp3s from Kazaa.

He saw videos post- dated over five years earlier, not just the usual ones of Jarod working with Sydney in the lab, but those not even he was permitted to see and he had seen plenty. These were not just of the Tower showing Lyle and Mr. Raines in conversation with certain important types, but the activities going on in The Centre lower levels.

Four Sweepers guarded a set of steel doors. One would leave and soon return with a man whose drab clothes contrasted with the business suits of his guards who would accompany him into the lab and leave, closing the door behind him. A momentary change of scene, and the hefty man now saw several rooms where this man or another worked, one room was flooded, another room was heated to a high temperature, still another showed a bed with a body on it, and another room was filled with ice-cold water.

He was not a fool to believe there was only one Pretender. The Centre was too smart for that, and if Jarod had to go, there were others to take his place, besides the eight that had been "released," and it was these remainders whom he saw performing their tasks for their Masters. He also saw that none of them were Blacks or as they were called by the modern term, African Americans. Had this been the case, the authorities would have closed down the Centre long ago. People hated racial prejudice and bigotry, but they closed their eyes to the injustices visited on these Pretenders because their skin was as white or as beige as their own. They had sympathized with the Jews because of their religion, but no one knew what beliefs or religions these Pretenders had and so the Centre kept its secrets.

One thing about working at the Centre in his job was to make him not sympathize with the Pretenders, to disregard any cries of help, or protect them whenever Raines, Lyle, or one of the staff tortured or did experiments on them. He had even seen Lyle do unspeakable things to a young Pretender girl (she died as a result) and stood calmly by.

He tried Miss Parker's number, disguising his voice with one of those things picked up at Radio Shack, but "I'm sorry, sir, but Miss Parker's left for California with Jarod." With that the line went dead. He redialed. "Do you mean after Jarod? Did he escape again?"

"No sir. You haven't heard. She just let him go for a bit, something about his expertise on a serial murder case. Why are you calling us?"

"I had a brother who worked there. I kept his card, and id., just in case you caught those who did it and wanted me to testify as a bereaved family member."

"Well thank you, sir for your help. By the way, if you'd come to the Centre and go to the main office, and turn them in, I'll take your name and information so we can contact you in the future."

This was just the excuse he wanted. He would be there on Monday. That was two days ago and according to the information, Miss Parker had called back saying she was in San Bernardino. When he arrived at the Centre, he learned that Miss Parker was now in a small town between San Francisco and Los Angeles, something the man who opened the door mentioned after saying, "Hello Sam, I see you're back," in a tone that indicated he would have rather that he burned in hell. He also told Sam about "the advantages of the computer geek and the corporate lawyer being friends. Broots and Mr. Lambourni are both into computers and are at the computer show in San Francisco now. Miss Parker and Jarod couldn't go, because their kids are too young to see the San Francisco sights."

"When did the Centre hired you and what's this about Lambourni?" he asked, wondering why the man blocked the door.

"I have always been here. As for Lanbourni, it has something to do about a birth date in July. Left in a hurry, ordered me, 'Do what Geraldo says. I'll be back." He snickered. "By the way, I watched _Red Sonja_ last night. Couldn't help seeing the irony — The prince of Padluck and his army, Lambourni and his army. Lets see, daughter, son in law, four to sixteen kids — Guns, rifles, dynamite, bazookas. Come in."

_He's the one who answered the phone and he knew who I was_! Sam felt like Vincent Prince in _The Masque of the Red Death_, just before Red Death showed his face. This man was scary. "You weren't serious about the guns, were you?"

"Lambourni's very protective. Watch your step. The place's a mess after the cleanup."

Sam almost tripped over a raised tile that still held the blood stains that scrubbing could not remove. There was a smell of Lysol and ammonia, and he could still see the gashes made by knife blades and bullet holes as the man led Sam to one of the offices and something told Sam that his life would be over if he said the wrong thing.

"I heard that Mr. Raines and Mr. Lyle are no more, thankfully. Now what is this about Miss Parker having kids? Did she adopt some?"

"They're her's and Jarod's. Mr. Parker had a certificate designating that Jarod be given to his daughter as a gift. Of course, being a woman, she decided to try him out in bed. I heard she used four handcuffs, two extra large. Was she ever surprised to find that his species did not have the emotional makeup of homo sapiens, but the results were successful."

"Are you telling me that the Pretender gene makes Jarod a different species? He's not human?"

"Not homo sapiens. I suppose you didn't see that announcement on TV by Walter Attwood who used to be a Navy Seal before his injury and weight gain but I do have a DVD." He looked through the series of DVDS that the Centre now used to store its information. "Yes when everyone was using VHS, we already had discs."

_This man certainly has been at the Centre, but as a minor worker_, thought Sam as he listened as Walter Attwood announced, "The new species will now be known as homo dominants!"

"Jarod was one until the Centre decided to introduce Neogeneis two in his system and make him more compliant and they did it to all of them here except for those who broke out and hid their children," said his host, taking out another disc and inserting it into the player.

"This is another child, Edward. He's dead now. They gave him the drug after his mother weaned him."

Sam saw a small boy kicking at a dog, and then attacking an older child, until two men came over and talked to his teacher who later asked Eddie to go with these gentlemen. A few minutes later, he saw a different Eddie, one very calm and obedient, and sucking on a Popsicle.

They spent an hour, Sam not asking the man's name, seeing the change the drug produced, the children so altered turning out to grow into very helpful teenagers with none of the rebellion If Sam had a son, he wanted him to be obedient, but not like automation. He wanted his son to question him, not act like a faithful, what was it that Miss Parker called Jarod, lab rat? But the Pretenders would have turned on society without the drug. The Centre was doing society a favor, channeling their violent tendencies.

Suddenly the other man turned towards the door, and started to take the DVDs out and pack them away. Sam could not see the rush. He had not heard any footsteps. Five minutes later, the door opened and another man appeared.

"Theodore, what are you doing up here? Did you finish that simulation about the bank robbery and the murder of the teller?"

"I did it an hour ago. It was an inside job and the suspect's height was wrong. The real murderer was five foot six and the suspect five foot eight and one half inches. In order for him to kill the victim, he would have had to bend his knees and wait for an hour until she returned from lunch, at which time his legs would have ached. The police report forgot to mention his rheumatism. I wrote this down. The real murderer's in Chicago visiting his aunt. Since everyone else is busy —"

"Okay, I'll call the FBI." He then turned to Sam. "Sam, I thought you were dead."

"Another Sam, Sydney."

"You have to take Ted at face value. He's our new Pretender or rather Miss Parker's. She's in charge but right now she's busy."

"Yes I heard she's in California with Jarod." The idea made Sam sick.

"Oh Jarod won't harm Miss Parker. Ted are you still here? Then go get the Richards file and study it."

"What did he do? Kill his wife and kids?"

"Stop dreaming Theodore. He embezzled his company out of a million dollars. Unfortunately we don't know how."

"Ah a man after my own heart," Ted said and left, but not before mentioning something about robbing Bill Gats of his millions.

"Why do you let him roam free?" asked Sam,

"We found Ted works better this way. He solved every one of the criminal cases with one hundred percent accuracy and we discontinued Neogeneis Two after finding out the side effects, making one appear older than they are, possibly a shortened life span. Dr. Cox brought in several packages from the fast food chain when the Centre ran out of the allotted food supply designed for the Pretenders and future Pretenders."

"Are you telling me, we wasted so much time snatching those kids?"

"No we did not. Mr. Parker wanted to avoid inbreeding so we trained the ones born here or captured in the nineteen forties, but kept them under-wraps, just in case we could not recruit any from the outside. Oh by the way, do you like my new office?"

Sam did not say anything but whistle.

"They blocked off the lower sub levels and moved everything up. And we saved a lot on sun lamps. Also found out not giving the Neo Genesis, it made the simulations more realistic even without isolation. Oh the Pretenders call what is in the Nutritional Supplement, Neogeneis Two. It seems there is a Neogeneis One which was listed as a dangerous drug," said Sydney, "and we decided to pair The Pretenders, male to female."

"So we get more of them." Sam began to see the possibilities.

"The older ones, those fifteen or older are allowed to go out to see the results of the simulations and Mr. Lambourni has decided that instead of gradually descending the Pretenders to the lower sublevels, he will do the opposite. The policy of no mirrors, unfortunately, stays. It appears that not seeing themselves in a reflection makes them think of themselves as possessions and once they sight themselves years later, it does not change their opinion. Even in Jarod's case, I showed him his reflection too late."

He handed Sam the new policy. "As you note, we decided to vary their diets and allow them regular clothes, sort of a semi uniform. That way, if the Centre is attacked, the attackers won't look for allies in the oppressed."

Sam frowned, showing his disapproval, but asked about Miss Parker's health.

"Miss Parker is in a rather bad state, I'm afraid. She's given birth to four and is pregnant again," Sydney continued, "and you do realize that the Centre kept her ova immature for a longer period of time than normal."

Sam did not hear this. He was still convinced that all the troubles of the Centre had to do with the Pretender running away. "Jarod's responsible."

Sydney handed him the address in the other San Pedro by the Bay. "Miss Parker forced him to get her pregnant; he did not seduce her or attack her. You know that multiple births run in her family and that after thirty, the chance increases so she had four. And do you remember the two children that the nurses fussed over?"

"Yes, their parents died. Mr. Parker took them in, Frederick and Margaret."

"They're Miss Parker's and Jarod's and they've always been at the Centre until they ran off." He gave Sam a booklet, detailing the creation of Frederick and Margaret, the drugging of Miss Parker, the placing of her on top of a naked chained Jarod, along with details as to sperm viability, and time of arousal. Had not Sam been a Centre employee he would have torn the booklet in half and left the room in a fury.

Lady M tried to poison Frederick once," said Sydney

"I never heard of it.'

"A week before he and Margaret left, Lady M gave a party and had him over at her quarters for ice cream. He never had trouble with ice cream before. If I had not been there the night before and left my notes there by mistake, he would be dead. It was a combination of Neogeneis 1 that turned him into a homo sapien temporarily enough so the real poison could take effect. I took him back to his apartment, forced him to drink castor oil, got him to vomit, and called the Centre doctor who pumped his stomach. The next day, he was back to normal and then I had the ice cream analyzed. Luckily, he had just started to eat it so most of the stomach contents were from his breakfast and lunch that day. That's why Mr. Parker had little Jarod or now Jeremiah hidden in the nursery, not only to keep Jarod from knowing he is a father, and Miss Parker that she is a mother, but also to keep Lady M from killing him and I hear she knows where Jarod is and I suspect she might kill Miss Parker as well."

"I'll leave right away. I will make sure she is unharmed. You do not have Frederick and Margaret's address, do you?" He put them in his pocket and as soon as he was out the Centre, lit a match and burned them in the trash. Frederick and Margaret could take care of themselves, and it did not take him long to get a plane to California.


	22. Message of Danger

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

March 13, 2007

Unaware that Sam was alive and on his way to California, Jarod and Miss Parker and company were now in San Pedro by the Bay. It was a prosperous town, basked by the warm California sun, situated at the Northern end of the Mediterranean climate; it had a warm glow that showed in its citizens.

Miss Parker paid for a house, instead of renting it, for she figured it would be a nice place to go live in rather than just in Blue Cove and chose an isolated area for obvious reasons. She did not have to worry about MacLean barging in. He learned that the red headed star was in town acting in a movie, and was over at her trailer getting a follow up story. So Miss Parker and Jarod were alone (except for the children) Jarod was being particularly amorous that morning. Well, some of what he did was the result of the first few months she had him.

"Jarod, that tickles."

He lifted his head, snarled, and moved his body so it loomed over hers. "That better?"

"Much." She felt a little twinge.

"The little ones are getting ready to emerge."

"It could be as early as next month. I'm getting rather confused with the different time schedule. Six to eight months compared to nine months with us."

"The Dominant babies are born in multiples and now for the show of affection." He bent down to kiss her, but she pushed him away. "I have to cool down. I'll be back after a shower," she said as she went into the washroom, undressed, and turned on the water. It felt so good.

It was not that Jarod felt rejected. Miss Parker not letting him hold her unless she wanted to, did not bother him. Besides, most Dominant women did not like to be touched by their mates in the last few months of pregnancy and even though Miss Parker was not one, but the Centre had raised her to be as cool and lacking in emotion as one of the New Species. Jarod entered the washroom, turned on the water in the sink, speculating that perhaps Mr. Parker and Raines had been trying her to infiltrate the Dominants, and so get more captives for the Centre. He waited for Miss Parker to finish her shower, put on her robe, and put her hand on her stomach with a sigh of apprehension that turned to relief when she felt the little feet inside still kicking.

"Don't be long," she said as she got into bed.

"My appearance is not conducive to affection," he said. "I will have to prepare myself."

"I do not mind a little stubble," but she knew Jarod's new nature was anathema with any imperfection on his part and she waited.

Jarod showered, picked up a razor, and ran it over his face. It was not necessary, but some instinct told him that even a miniscule strand of hair on the face was the sign of lesser beings.

He could sense Miss Parker, Lady Angela, waiting in the bed, her hair fluffed on the pillow, her body arranged just so as she peered to see if the children were asleep. The last thing she wanted was for all five of them to pile on her and Jarod and tug at them, saying, "Play with us, make babies later."

"Now?" he asked.

"Do not make it not to hard, Jarod." The whole situation moved into love making with the holding (now permitted) and kisses, the hand stroking which she did not mind. At least that was better than the groping and heavy breathing that her former lovers had done. Jarod did everything she asked, not complaining when she did something to him, or feeling worthless because that 1.6 makeup in him prevented him from associating his person with his experience, the part the Centre first mistook as a gene that would make him be "anyone he wanted to be."

She stood up in the bed. "That's it!"

Jarod touched his teeth. "I almost bit you." He wiped his mouth.

"It's all right. Get dressed, because I want you to do something." She bent down, pulling out a metal box under the bed, unlocked it, and threw Jarod a shirt and slacks.

It took him less than a second. He ran a comb through his hair, and had another unnecessary quick shave. Miss Parker took a little longer, pushing past him in the bathroom, washing her face, brushing her teeth, arranging her hair just so, and that bra strap kept poking past her sleeveless top.

"Your sister is an actress, right?" she asked.

"She's also not owned."

"That's not the point. Remember the four Inner Sanctum children not accounted for?"

He did, but at the time they heard about the four, he was busy showing Miss Parker much physical affection of the intimate variety, all this observed by several Free Dominants.

"Yes I remember.

"From what Lewison told us, the Dominant Chameleon program permits them to squirm into any role. Now what if two Dominant adults were not in the program and wanted to find where their stolen children were and not let people get suspicious?"

"I suppose taking up with the New York Theater Society or becoming the next best stars in Hollywood." _Miss Parker's right_ "I'll need to get the latest copy of _Variety _and any other magazine, not the one given to the public, but the ones that the media uses." He grabbed the camera and before she could do anything, he was outside, heading to the nearest magazine stand.

He bought a copy of _Variety,_ but the others listing the names of actors looking for jobs in the Eastern United States, he could only find in a specialized bookstore or at a University. He had to ask questions but everyone was too busy getting ready for the regatta.

Now just as he approached a small University bookstore, his senses became more alert as he sighted two men and his senses became more alert. He recognized the predatory look in their eyes, the expression of confidence, and the way they wore their _Walmart_ clothes as if they came from Sacs Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive.

"You're not one of us," said the first one.

Jarod gave the answer that would be acceptable to them. "I'm from the Lost Ships."

"We heard of that. Do you have permission to be here?" The man's eyes noticed the crucifix, and the other one went around Jarod, seeing the way it was fastened so that any removal unless by those in authority would bring death or extreme mutilation. Of course, no one told a Favorite this, but no one had to. They understood.

"I am on a mission to find any of our species here and inform them that there are four juvenile Dominants who were imprisoned in the Inner Sanctum of the Centre whose progenitors could not rescue them."

There was no answer and Jarod asked them if they were "aware of the takeover of the Centre in Blue Cove, Delaware; the one where the Supreme Chosen paid a visit?"

"My father was one of the special guards accompanying the Chosen and this is John Sedona whose father is the head of the Chameleon program. We do know about the children and the Medicals are searching for their progenitors, but so far have failed."

"I am John Sedona, a photographer for the Terra Firma movie company and I would be agreeable to go to Delaware and assist in the search, but I'm here to incorporate a movie in the regatta," said the other man who gave Jarod a brief description of the film.

It was a typical action adventure movie. The Mexican American hero was fighting a villain who wanted to "win at any cost" and had sabotaged last year's event by sinking the _Bonadventuro,_ in an explosion that caused the hero's bride to drown along with her crew. The hero discovered that money exchanged between a certain Mr. Casavetes and a Mr. Chan Hui, an official in the Chinese government who also had an entry. There would be martial arts, cumulating with the hero facing Chan Hui, an expert in Kung Fu, Jiujutsu, and other forms of unarmed combat. By the way, Segal and Van Damne were making two other films, and Arnold and Chuck had other commitments.

The 'hero' of the movie was, at this moment, adjusting his Hawaiian style swimming trunks, and putting sun tan lotion over his perfect muscled body. By the looks of him, he would do his own stunts and the studio babysitter was having a time trying to keep his four year old daughter and two year old son from trying to rope Quanto the beagle our 'hero' had as a mascot.

"I am honored, and I do have another request," said Jarod, taking out the photographs of Dead Beat and Lady M. "My Lady owns an investigating business and he has dishonored his mate." He gave them a shortened version, adding that, "She is a very wealthy and beautiful homo sapien and we must be careful." No Dominants would dare be under any ordinary homo sapien. The Dominants would choose the most attractive women for themselves — once they had taken over. Of course, no one knew what their ideas of beauty were.

He showed them a picture of Miss Parker. "The other woman was a partner in the Centre. Miss Parker fears for the lives of our children and I fear for the discontinuation of our species."

Sedona took something from his bag and ran it over the photographs "The pictures have been noted recorded and duplicated and what was your reason for the last saying?"

Jarod pointed to the picture of Lady M. "She'll kill the children."


	23. The Registration

March 14, 2002

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The dark haired man stood up on the platform in the sand, besides the table where the judges sat, his brown eyes looking at the crowd who were milling around, and waved his right hand to a set of booths some distance away. Behind him was the stairs leading down from the town and in front was the sea.

The booths were already attracting customers and making money. Some girls were selling candyfloss, others were patting out tortillas, and making other Mexican American delicacies, a man was preparing Chinese food in a Wok. One booth had a girl offering to analyze handwriting, another had a woman in a navy blouse over a white skirt and a college kid learning the ropes, and one was being sponsored by a well-known food chain.

"Will all new contestants please register at the booth with the sign 'Registrations?" he asked pointing towards where his sister worked and thought about his wife, Ana's role as Miss Sonara, the beauty contest winner captured by the villain of the movie, a character whose exploits he would have admired, had they not made peace with the Sapiens.

He watched the crowd disperse as the contestants rushed towards the crowd with the woman in the navy blouse and skirt, clamoring in front of her, pushing and shoving, trying to get their name first on the list.

The potential yacht champions had assumed it would be at the table where four judges sat down, their eyes bored with many regattas, and many blonde tanned young men in long trunks and many white haired men in blue blazers hoping to get the coveted cup.

The regatta had started in Alaska, skipping for a time through the Georgia Straits to stop at Vancouver, after flirting to Nanaimo, and Victoria to the amazement of the tourists and the adulations of the press. It made a brief stops at Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma, Washington, breezed in at Seaside and Lincoln City, Bandon, and Brookings, Oregon. It made the round of the Northern Coastal California towns, and stayed for three days in San Francisco Bay in order to get supplies. It was open only to those in the North American continent. Next year, Costa Rica would be the first Central American country to join. Then the regatta would start from there, go through the Panama Canal, and then up to Alaska where they hoped to have a salmon steak dinner complete with champagne.

"'¿_Buenos diás, señora, dondé es el hotel_?' No that's not right." Wyneth pressed his lips together trying to get the correct enunciation of the words. "You'd think they'd have a better phrase like "´¿_Buenos diás señora, dondé es_—how do you say 'gambling palace' in Spanish?" He pulled the plug from his ear and put the CD back in its case. That forty dollars spent on the program was a waste of money. All he learned was to order breakfast, buy a suit of clothes, purchase train tickets, and call for the doctor if he were ill. Nothing on what he really wanted.

He heard a commotion at the registration booth. This all round athlete type, another man who looked very important, and a man with a movie camera were arguing about something. The college kid came over and put on the "we can't help you act," causing the very important man to explode.

"I am sorry, _señor,_ but we have to go partly along with the ships. As you can see by our script, Señor Alvarez is supposed to fight the villain on his yacht. We can't have it on land."

"I'm sorry, sir, but what if you endangered the voyage, but to mention the other members of the regatta?"

"I'd like to get started shooting," said the photographer who seemed rather anxious.

"In a moment," said All important. He addressed the registrar. "We could shoot on the outer edge of the regatta. That would mean altering the ship a bit. Do we still have those shoots we took out of Eduardo changing the course of the ship?"

"I believe we do," said the photographer, "back in the studio."

All important considered the length of time it would take and gave his most worried look to the Master of the Ceremony's sister who glanced from him to the photographer, before taking out her map, hummed for a moment, and said, "You can film in this area. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Thank you." There was much shaking of hands, promises to offer a discount in the San Pedro video stores, fan photographs of the actors in his role as Eduardo with the potential winners, and the usual advertising gizmos.

Wyneth waited until the movie staff had left and went up to the Registrar. He tried to appear calm and nonchalant, his manner smooth and his smile a bit on the shy side. "How much does it cost to enter?"

"The Fee is two hundred dollars for the entrance fee plus twenty dollars non refundable."

He started thumbing through his wallet, counted out the bills as if it hurt for him to part with it and his fingers stung as she grabbed the money, put it in the metal box, and then sealing it with a cool pleasant voice and a smile that reminded him of Dracula's Daughter, said, "Sign here please."

"So when does the actual race begin?" Wyneth asked while College Kid filled out the necessary forms. He wanted to get in the early morning group.

"It will start on Easter Monday as soon as you reach Los Angeles."

The clerk would not tell him where it would end, but Wyneth did not care. He knew it was a city where Spanish was the major language.


	24. The Inner Sanctum Children Identified

March 14, 2002

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Now as far as Jarod was concerned, Sedona would not have the time or the finances to search for four Dominant Inner Chamber youth, so he decided to do it on his own.

He had found quite a few college stage companies, small theater offerings, and not quite ready for big- time movie productions like that Mexican American one known as the _Terra Firma Movie Company._ The latter specialized in Action Adventure although it did do a rather elaborate, for it, production of the movie career of a famous Mexican actress. Most of its money, however, was made in evil dictator wishing to rule the world and one or more valiant souls fighting to rid the earth (or Universe) of his tyranny. It looked like his best bet, until he heard that the Terra Firma Movie Company preferred that the actors do their own stunts and since they recruited most the gymnasiums and sports arenas of Mexico, they had no problem.

Hiring Dominants, however, was a problem because the 1.6 species did not have the appearance of extra large muscles. Because of their inborn strength and agility, the New Species, could look like someone who got sand kicked in his face, and still could take on the world. Jarod was certain the producer and director would take notice if a man about five feet four and of small build wiped the floor with the bad guy without knowing any of the martial arts. .

Thus, Jarod turned his attention to the traveling theater shows, the off Broadway ones that had a set retinue of actors and then hired local talent. It would have to be not that well known, no big name stars, no Tony Awards. The parents of the missing teen would not want to draw attention. Jarod skimmed the magazine and looked through the pictures for a married couple who played secondary leads, preferably in the same drama.

Of course, he did not expect them to be here in San Pedro, but they were in California. Dominants, unlike homo sapiens, would not go all over the place looking for their lost children. The Council would send a hunter, and a killer. Using the Dominant skill, he could blend the parents' features into dozens of possibilities. All Jarod had to do was to find what couple kept cash on hand, and if they ran short of funds because they had to pay for someone's operation. He checked the Dominant code for hunting: operation, and the one for retrieval of lost relatives: school as well as the success of such venture: home schools and then searched the classified ads until he came to a particular ad.

Young couple wants help for son in need of operation to attend school in West Central California.

He checked the box number, from Los Angeles. Now all he had to do was to do a Pretend as the hunter. The only thing wrong was that now Miss Parker had everything and he did not have the large supply of Centre money he used to and he could not go to all the apartments in Los Angeles and knock on all the doors, trying to find an acting couple. He started telephoning various theater agencies and he did have the photograph of the four Inner Sanctum older young Dominants and their two children. Checking his spare change, he went to the nearest Office store and asked to use the fax machine.

Two dollars later, Jarod found the couple. They would be on their way to San Pedro by the Bay. He called Miss Parker telling her the news and waiting for a Red Toyota to drive in. Knowing Dominants, it would be in the latest model and someone had died for them to obtain the money to buy it.

An hour later, a young man and a woman got out. At once, they recognized him as a Dominant. "You have found our daughter?"

"At Delaware. She was kidnapped by the Mexican Centre," said Jarod showing the pictures once more. "Do you know the boy?"

"He looks like René. He and his mate went with Lewison to work at the Eastern school about twelve to fifteen years ago. Not humans, if you might know. Lewison thought they were dead. You might not know, being from the Lost Ship, but the father of René stole a valuable artifact from the Council. You know the penalty."

"Enslavement."

"He was not mated at that time. My grandfather's true sibling performed his Joining with another female. After their sons were born, and daughters, Lewis took one of the sons, René, a clerk and Joined him with Ava."

The boy in the picture was René and Ava's son and they were dead. The Centre would have made sure of that. Jarod now took out the picture of Carla. "My Raised son's Favorite." He paused but a moment. "The Centre in Delaware put the mark in her."

The father showed his anger when Jarod told him his grandchildren had been marked as well, but was relieved when he learned that any other children they had would be unmarked and after a time, could buy their freedom. They thanked him and left after Jarod gave him more information. Now the Council would decide. Jarod felt his face. He needed a shave.

_It must have been the emerging of the Dominant_, he thought. He noticed it first when he was a Professor at the University. Before, he would develop of the five o'clock shadow, and then forget about it until it got too itchy. Now he would grab the razor even if he did not need it.

Most Dominant males were clean-shaven, even the ones in the Inner Sanctum had laboriously plucked off any facial hairs and since none of them were Oriental or American Indians, that must have been painful. Occasionally one would grow a moustache but seldom a beard. And Jarod realized another thing. He was now an adult and the rebellion was over. He went into a men's washroom and took out a razor, noticing he no longer had that sad haunted look of more than a year ago.


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

About the same time that Jarod was waiting for the Dominant parents to arrive, Sam was getting off at the airport. He went to the Hertz counter, wrote a check, and then turned to see a familiar face.

"Sam the Sweeper," she said in her cool voice, "I presume you're here for the same reason that I am." She whispered in his ear. "Dispose of the evidence."

"Sometimes you sound like Miss Parker."

She shrugged, throwing back her blonde wavy hair. "I was her first teacher. We cannot have weakness in the Centre and after her poor mother died, she had to learn from an expert."

Sam just snarled. "I always looked after Miss Parker. What makes you think you're much better than me?"

Lady M waved a very elegant hand. "Because you resented all those years chasing Jarod for her, denying yourself a family. Don't you just hate him? What he made Miss Parker give up?" She could see the darkness in his brown eyes. Her plan was working.

Now Sam had no resentment about not marrying. He did not want to leave a widow with children if he was killed and Jarod, for all his reluctance, would have shot him if the sweeper, on orders from Miss Parker, Raines, or Mr. Lyle, had to wipe out a busload of schoolchildren in order to get the Pretender. That gas was not as bad as the other suggestions made.

Sam had to go along with her. If Jarod was killed in the process, he would marry Miss Parker and raise the children. He probably would need help in that process. They were homo dominants, but why should this woman play God? They were innocents. Trouble was that Sam realized he had helped destroy other innocents with the same makeup in the Centre. "What do you want?"

"To find out where they are, Miss Parker and that toy of her, Jarod."

"I fail to see why you regard him as a toy."

"A diversion. Once we get rid of the children, he will be back in the Centre and then I will be in control with you, Sam as my right hand man." She smiled. "You know we need a firm rule and with Lambourni leaving for New York and New Jersey, according to rumors, his sons won't be any trouble. They'll be too busy attending law school to bother about the Centre and THE OTHERS will be going back to California or whatever rock they crawled back from under."

"I sometimes forget you are a woman."

"Are you interested, Sam?" She placed her gloved hand on his shoulder.

"You're not Jewish."

She turned back angrily. "Does that make any difference?"

"To me, yes."

Lady M opened her purse. "I am sure a substantial cash incentive would help." He waited until he put it in his wallet. "Now you drive." It would be a pity to sacrifice the two little boys, no three, including the now named Jeremiah, but it was necessary. In the matter of state, boys grew up into men and they were dangerous.

She had learned it studying ancient history, how the Egyptians plotted to kill the Hebrew boys, how in other cultures it was common to execute all but a few of the males, and how in Roman times, the gladiatorial combats took care of any foreign slaves rising against their masters.

And there was one thing she wanted to see, Jarod's face full of hopelessness as his future died with him. The little girls would grow up in the Centre not knowing their father, and then married off or whatever at an early age and as soon as they had children, she would kill any male issue, and leave the girls alive. By that time, Jarod would be dead, (no doubt from overwork), but Lady M would be certain that, at least in this sense, there would be no more of THEM.

How to get rid of Frederick, however, was going to be a problem. Mr. Parker had protected him and he had that Giuseppe to watch over him. _THEY'RE too loyal!_

They drove towards the coastal area, but had to make a detour, passing the high-end houses of the professionals. Most of the houses were empty, but in one, someone opened the curtain a bit, and then quickly closed it.

"Must be the Maid," said Sam.

"Yes," said Lady M, "now when are we going to get to Miss Parker's cabin?"

"We should be there in an hour. Traffic!"

_An hour_, thought Lady M, _an hour and it'll be over for Miss Parker and doom for Jarod_. She opened her purse and looked at the paper. _Miss Parker would never have another child after this. Too bad about her 'cancer_'. She pretended to wipe a tear from her eye.


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTYSIX

Having finished with his errand, Jarod now started on the way back to the house, passing a large four story house surrounded by a white metallic fence, and felt an odd familiarity. He shook his head. Dominants would not live in so obvious a manner, even important ones like the Supreme Chosen until they gained power.

He was just about to go towards it, for if there were Dominants in it masquerading as homo sapiens, it was only politeness to talk to them. He was new in the area, a Lost Ship Dominant, and even though the war between the Dominants and the homo sapiens was at a lull, every new Dominant had to inform the regular Mexican Dominants that he or she could be depended upon. So Jarod walked over, knocked on the door, and a familiar presence opened it.

"Jarod?"

It was Cox.

"I guess you're surprised to see me, Doctor, but we're looking for a certain man." He described the Dead Beat. "So what name are you using?"

"Colby." He invited him in, offering him a drink, all out of politeness and got down to explanations. Of course it was mostly lies, nothing about being in the Witness Protection Program, something about a name mix up. "That man sounds like a Arthur Wyneth. He's entering the Pageant. You heard about it? Comes every year. Last year it started in Mexico, this year it started in Alaska."

"You wouldn't know the name of his yacht?"

Cox thought for a moment. "I believe it was the _Dollars Day_ or was it _Doris Day_?" When Jarod gave a puzzled look, Cox explained the latter was a famous actress popular in the fifties and sixties. "I wanted to take a photo of it, but Wyneth made such a fuss and I've been having a bit of trouble. Called the Marshall's office about it."

Something tingled in Jarod's senses. "Witness Protection. Who's after you? Willard?"

"No doubt. You know that he along with Sam were the only ones unaccounted for. I know Willie, I mean Willard's grandfather was a Nazi, and his father was in the Hitler youth. That's why the Centre recruited him. His grandfather was so notorious no decent organization would hire him. Anyway when I told the authorities about Raines wanting to starve those children, I had to do something."

It was the natural reasoning of an obstetrician. If the Centre decided to starve the adult Pretenders and other prisoners, Cox would not say a word, but children were a different matter.

Jarod finished his drink. His metabolism absorbed the alcohol so it did not affect him as it would a homo sapien. He took it all in; the doctor had ratted on the Centre to the law, but did not tell the whole story. The authorities did not know about the Dominants, how the Centre hunted them down. All they knew was that the Centre used the simulations not for its intended purpose, but the opposite.

"So how did you explain the children?"

"Did not.'

"What?" Jarod was standing up now for his five-minute sense was kicking in. Someone was closing in on them. He did not know who was in danger, he or Cox. He had to get back to the Beach house. It was not just the sense, it was something else, but he was too far away to know.

"They were released when I called the FBI and what good would it do? I heard that Lambourni released a new copy of the Dominant book. It'll probably take a few generations before things are right."

"I would say that. I hope you talked about the improper sanitation, improper lighting, etc." He was going towards the door.

"Yes. I explained the drugged food as being stored in a neglectful manner, environmentally unsafe and that the reaction of certain of the employees to the food was a form of chronic food poisoning. The Food and Drug administration stepped in and analyzed a sample, finding an unknown substance. I made sure that only those affected by the drug would volunteer. That did it. They ordered the drug destroyed, not only that, but how to make it."

Starting towards the door, Jarod saw Liza, waving hello to her. "As far as anyone knows, I just stopped in to see Dr. Colby because my wife's expecting."

"Well thank you, Mr. di Angela." Cox closed the door behind him.

Now Jarod would have been all right, if not at that particular time, one of the abortionists threw something that missed Cox and he hollered back at them. And Jarod would not be in danger if that particular woman had not threw the bag of entrails or what have you behind the Pretender's back.

Suddenly a police officer appeared, calling out, "Stop!'

For a second, Jarod looked around, but seeing no one committing in the air, just started to walk away.

"Stop in the name of the law!"

He turned around, seeing one of the police officers draw his gun and then Jarod knew. They were after him. _It's California, the homo sapiens are after all of the New Species!_ He walked a little faster and then broke into a run. His five minute sense saw one policeman getting into his squad car, and the other one taking off on foot, going in such a way as to overtake him. They were planning to corner him. Quickly Jarod altered his course, using the tactics that he had used on the run for so many years. He sped down a lane, and then along the beach, going from pile to pile, and seeing his destination getting closer and closer.

And then his second five minute sense kicked in, his children were in danger and he had to make it to the beach house before the five minutes were up else it would be too late.

"Stop!" yelled one of the police and another shouted, "I can't catch up with him!"

"Get the squad car and I'll cut him off!'

Jarod jumped over a fence, saying, "Excuse me" to a pit bull that tried bite him, wracked the animal so hard, it flew backwards into a marble statue of Venus de Milo, and yelped in pain.

Leaving the dying animal, he ran out of the yard with the police closing in on him, but he was almost at the beach house, when a shot ran out, and he felt a sting in his shoulder and smelled gunpowder.

Jarod felt the pain from the bullet, now lodged in his shoulder but that did not slow him down for if he did, his children would be dead.


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

At the Beach House, Miss Parker was busy trying to take a pair of scissors away from Jarvis and desperately trying to find where Adrian and Patricia were up to.

"Jeremiah, where are your brother and sister?" she asked.

He looked at her in a rather serious way. "Disguising," he said.

"What do you mean disguising?"

"Progeny, mother. They must not find us." He smiled with a deceptively innocent grin, his hands on a small knife.

"Oh don't worry, Jeremiah, you're safe, but," she said, remembering that one had to be careful in addressing Progeny children, "you're the oldest. We don't want anything bad to happen to your brothers and sisters. Be sure they don't get a hold of the knife."

Her ears pricked, it was just a soft sound like the tread of a footprint, and it was not Jarod's. Patting her son on the head, she said, "I thought I heard someone at the door. You find Adrian and Patricia." She picked up Olivia, and put her on the couch. Olivia immediately got off when her mother's back was turned, and followed her older brother into the back room.

Miss Parker heard giggling. Something told her that was not good, nor was the woman at the front door who barged in, after the man besides her kicked it in. "Sam?"

"Hello Miss Parker."

"Hello Sam. I thought you were dead." With that, she looked at the other woman. "And Lady M, I hoped you were dead!"

The other woman pushed past the Sweeper, her eyes glittering deception, her cool voice echoing venom. "Miss Parker, so nice to see you. It's such a pleasant breeze. Reminds you of home, doesn't it? Sam keep your revolver on her. I'm going to search around."

She barged past Miss Parker, her eyes looking for signs of little ones. Hearing snickering, she reached into a closet, just in time to grab a small back, and haul it out. "Rather nice little boy, isn't he?" she asked.

"You put my son down."

"Oh I sure will. Oh I always love children." She had that pleasant look on her face, the kind that had deceived so many other children who went with the 'nice lady' and were never seen again.

"Wait a minute, Miss Margaret," said Sam, putting his gun to his side, and holding his other hand out in protest, "I don't like harming children."

She smiled. "But these aren't ordinary children. They're very dangerous children. We have to control them." Holding the child up, she asked, "Do you want to play a game? Do you?"

The toddler did not say a word. Lady M turned to Sam. "Just watch Miss Parker." Before he could do anything, she took a revolver out of her purse, pointing at both of them, and still holding the little one, grabbing its ankles, swung it towards the wall. "Oops slipped!"

Her gun fired at Sam as he rushed towards the child; deflected from the wall, it fell stunned to the floor.

Miss Parker stood horrified. "Sam! She's killed Adrian!"

At that moment, Jarod rushed in, just as the police officer raised his gun, aiming now to kill. "Patricia?"

"Stop!" Miss Parker rushed forward, pushing Sam to one side. "Don't kill him!"

But it was too late, the bullet had left the police officer's gun, but incredibly, Sam caught the shot. He looked at the blood dribbling down his hand. The police officer raised his gun again just as Miss Parker rushed towards him, grabbing his arm.

"I said you can't kill him. He's the father of my children and I'm expecting another!"

"Lady let go of my arm!" He looked rather frustrated, turning his revolver back to Jarod who just glared, daring him to shoot. "He threatened Dr. Colby and now we learned, he killed another doctor! Four in fact!"

Miss Parker did not have a second to think of Jarod's typical Dominant reaction. "I will not. Whatever you think, he's not that type!"

"Don't listen to her," said Lady M, "she's afraid of him. He told me to hurt the child." She sounded so convincing, what with her immaculate appearance and the police officer, obviously, was eager to put away the man who had threatened the Doctor.

By now, Jarod was angry. "You know I didn't kill them!"

"Be quiet!"

"The only doctor I saw in California was this Do..."

"I said be quiet or I'll shoot you right now!"

"Go ahead, you're too lazy to look for the real killer," Jarod shouted reaching into his jacket as the bullet went right towards him. He ducked just in time, as the bullet entered the wall. He then rushed at the police officer before he had time to reload, knocking him to the floor.

The other officer, occupied with Miss Parker, dared not use his weapon. He just watched helplessly as Jarod started throwing the other cop at the wall, picking him loose and throwing him against the wall again while Miss Parker yelled, "Jarod, stop it!'"

Meanwhile, Adrian toddled in and bent over Patricia, followed by Jeremiah. The older boy whispered something in the ear of the semi conscious little girl. However, no one took much notice for a man with a movie camera stood at the door along with a young woman, very beautiful and dressed in the bikini with a top. She also had what looked like cigarette burns on her face and arms.

Miss Parker was horrified, the policeman did not stand a chance against a raging Pretender and then the girl broke the spell, yelling in Spanish. "_Madre Diós_!" She rushed forward, screaming in a mixture of Spanish and English.

"Jarod, she's that actress. The one in that B movie _Die, Diablo, Die!, _Ana Sedona," said Miss Parker.

By this time, Jarod was standing up, holding his shoulder, pressing his finger against the small bloodstain.

"Now I've got you. Brown are you all right?" said the officer who held Miss Parker, and who had Jarod in his sites.

The officer on the ground just groaned.

"And who do you think you are?" demanded John, the photographer who was now about to aim his camera.

"Look it's none of your business! We've a dangerous criminal here."

Someone, another policeman who answered the call of "officer in trouble" stood behind John, "All right come along quietly!"

Unfortunately for him, the photographer would not cooperate. He lashed out with his spare arm, knocking the gun out of his hand. The other officer, seeing the commotion and not having the help of his partner who was still semi conscious from the beating, turned away, loosening Miss Parker.

At this, Lady M saw her chance. Before Miss Parker could reach her, she took something from her purse, and aimed it at Jeremiah and Adrian.

The realization that the children were in danger from the lady not from this rather tall angry man struck the two police officers who saw Lady M's triumphant smile, and the faces of the children getting paler.

Suddenly John tossed the actress something. As Lady M's gun aimed and missed, she rushed forward and pressed the object against the sides of both the children's necks. The light red mark faded into pink, and then into their natural beige skin color. All this she did, while trying to avoid the bullet.

It was then that the photographer moved in, so fast that Miss Parker could not see the action and pushed into Brown, deflecting his bullet so it lodged into a lamp, sending it to the floor, glass and ceramic smashing to the floor.

Adrian just looked at her and smiled. "Nice." And touched where the cut had once been.

"What a minute," said Brown recovering from almost falling to the floor. "You're under arrest! Gomez cuff her and read her her rights!" He pointed it to the children's rescuer who handed the children over to their mother.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Do you know who she is? It's Señorita Sedona, the famous Mexican actress," said Gomez.

She gave a haughty look that would have pleased Miss Parker.

"I don't care if she's Jennifer Lopez!. And I want that photographer arrested to. Stopping a police man in the commission of his duty," said Brown.

"She saved the children's lives or would you rather wish the other woman had killed them?" Gomez kept talking. "It's obvious that Jarod is not the man. You saw how that other woman acted and the children did get their throats cut. It's a good thing that Señorita Sedona acted as fast as she —"

Suddenly his eyes widened, and he started to stammer, pointing to Lady M who was staggering towards the floor, her gun dropping to the floor, as Jeremiah pulled her by her scarf while Adrian, Jarvis, Olivia bit into her, nails digging into her flesh. As for Patricia, she held the small knife their mother told Jeremiah not to give to his younger brothers and sisters, and stabbed through the woman's sandals.

Jarod just watched and then Miss Parker turned to the others. While Brown and Gomez moved to rescue Lady M, the camera and the actress did not move a finger to help the endangered Lady M. And the look on their faces was complete satisfaction.

_Dominants_, thought Miss Parker, _and Jarod's acting just like them not like over a year ago or two when he would move in and save her_. She glanced at the photographer for a moment, feeling something calming come over her and tried to fight it. "What's going on?" she asked, turning to Jarod who just stood there, his face a little paler than usual. Then she looked at the officers as they reached for Lady M who bleeding from her various wounds, threw off the children and staggered towards the door and John Sedona.

"Help!" she pleaded.

With all her fury, Miss Parker whispered to the woman, "Did you see what you accomplished? My children are part Homo Dominant, part Homo Sapiens, they are Progenies! Do you know what Progenies can do? They can blind the eyes and minds of not only their own species, Dominants, but our own. You think Frederick and Margaret were bad when they killed those guards? Think of what four could do no five! You opened up a can of snakes, Lady M and I hope you're happy!"

It was then that Miss Parker saw what she could not a few minutes earlier, the knife in the photographer's hand, saw how Lady M seemed drawn to him, and how he just held it so she fell right onto his blade.

The elegant woman who had helped the Centre kidnap so many children, and ruined the lives of others, fell dead.

"He's a Progeny," Miss Parker whispered, but no one heard her.

"Coup de grace," said Officer Gomez while Officer Brown felt her pulse.

Brown's brow winkled. "Are you sure it wasn't deliberate? And we ought to take them in."

"Arrest them for criminal negligence? For child endangerment? We should have read this Jarod his Miranda rights instead of being judge and jury. I don't know what to write on my report."

"Not animal assault. The bites are definitely human and the nail marks. She did attack them first. They were defending themselves and who knows how much damage that woman did by slitting their throats and throwing the little girl against the wall." He turned to Miss Parker and Jarod. "I would advise you take them to a doctor and have him look at them for brain swelling."

"We'll do that," said Jarod, seeing the room fade in and out.

The ambulance was at the door. The attendant looked at Sam's upper arm while Jarod just stood there, not moving. "You'll have to come to the hospital and have it looked at," said the paramedic and then turned to the Pretender. "You don't look too well yourself."

"I'm all right." He was feeling this intense pain in his shoulder.

"No you're not. Novacaine." The paramedic turned to his partner. "That'll do it. You'll need stitches and the wound cleansed. Luckily the bullet excited and bed rest."

Miss Parker was just about to say that they did not have time, when they heard the whistle blow.

The Regetta had disappeared and along with it The Dead Beat and there was MacLean at the door.

"What happened here?" he asked.


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

About the time, that the children were attacking Lady M, the contestants of the Regetta were getting ready for their final stop towards Los Angles. Once there, they would spent two days getting rested and getting their pictures taken as well as news coverage.

About sixty to one hundred boats were in the Pacific, white sails, red, blue, brown, yellow boats with names such as The Endeavor, Carman's Wave, Santa Cruz, Dog's Breakfast, Looting Sunset — any names that a man could think of. They came from as far north as Alaska and as far south as Central America, but their destination was Mexico, that is, the ten best who would race down there from Los Angeles.

On the shore, the cameras and the newscasters were ready, the reporter had his mini tape recorder, the representatives from the major networks had their trucks ready, although, it was doubtful they would show more than a six-second video and then that only for the local San Pedro news. There were so many races from Los Angeles, it was becoming common knowledge as witnessed by the lack of crowds watching. San Pedro being a bedroom community for either Los Angeles or San Bernardino lacked the large young crowd that would mob the docks. A great percentage of the population was probably driving down to the major cities and this is why Wyneth choose this town in the first place. Most of the people he saw on shore were over fifty except for the media and women with small children.

Sure that he would win, Wyneth put on his sailor's cap, making a good impression on the three men and the redhead he hired on as crew.

The crew he hired came highly recommended. Sure, it was not as large as the others, just three, but they had lived most of their life on the sea. In fact, the parents of two of them had lived on a houseboat, and the other one once had an uncle in the Coast Guard.

All three had, however, small run-ins with the law. One of the two males had smoked pot, quite extensively, and the other had stolen a car, and killed a mother and two kids while under the influence. Fortunately, for him, it was in a state that had a forgivable first offence. The state had since changed its law. Unfortunately, for him, the civil courts were not as forgiving so he had to quit college and pay back at least five hundred thousand dollars in damages. He was now trying to gain some extra money by working as a crew on Wyneth's yacht.

The female member of the crew had modeled in one of those skin flicks. That was ten years ago when she was underage and Wyneth knew that if she suspected anything about him, he would threatened to expose her seamy past.

"We're going to win this one," she said.

"You must be a prophet. How do you know?"

She walked around the deck, looking up at the sails, and inspected the outboard motor. "At least a three horsepower engine, an extra tank of white gas, the right number of lifejackets, a good food supply, plus all the beer to keep me happy."

"So who's the competition?"

She pointed to the starboard side. "See that one? The Ventura from Mexico, that's the Grand Lady from Los Angeles, Tracking Don from Vancouver Canada."

"And who has the best chance of winning?"

"Besides you? The Ventura. I heard it's owned by this movie mogul, but," She bent down and whispered. "I heard they're making a film so that disqualifies them."

"Say when do we reach Los Angeles?" asked one of the other crew, a blonde Californian type.

"Yes Jennie, quit flirting with the captain and get down to business," said other man whose hair matched hers.

"Just ignore my brother," said Jennie to Ken, "He's a loser."

The wind was starting to rise. They should reach Los Angeles ahead of the others, but Ken noticed the Ventura was not making a move. "What's up with them?"

"Trouble a shore. Half the crew's got into some sort of altercation," said Jennie's brother.

"Look Ben, I don't give a rat's ass about this movie mogul. I'm, I mean, we're going to win and I want to have a good rest in Los Angeles so we can start the final run without dozing off!"

Ben retorted with some rather imaginative language and then went back to wheeling in the anchor. "Looks like they've got a spare crew."

Sure enough, a small rowboat pulled up to the Ventura and three men got aboard. A few minutes later, the whistle blew and they were off.


	29. Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Accompanied by the police, Jarod and Miss Parker took the children to San Pedro Children's Hospital, which considering the size of the town, was not very large. They told MacLean to watch for Lambourni and the bunch. They would be coming in later today and afterwards, they'd all take off for Los Angeles.

The Sedonas called their director and then told Miss Parker,

"He's agreed to do the torture scene in Los Angeles just before the Regetta takes off," said Anna.

"That's very reassuring."

"It's not so bad. I just pretend that I'm trying to keep from screaming. It's not like in those video games where she sounds like a poor little girl being beset by older brothers instead of a woman who can take on the world."

"I'd like to see the movie when it comes out."

"As long as you don't let the children see it, Lady Angela."

Jarod read the names, noticing that one of the doctors on staff was a Dr. Colby alias Dr. Cox, but he did not want to inform Miss Parker's not yet. Besides, he was concerned about the children. Lady M would have made sure that she cut an artery when she slit Jeremiah's and Adrian's throats.

They stood aside as the police brought in Lady M's body along with John who made a credible testimony as to "this crazed woman trying to kill the children and when she thought she succeeded, she turned on me. I had to defend myself."

Since Lady M did look as if she was going after the photographer, her eyes crazed with what they assumed was insanity, that explanation took, although they could not explain those teeth marks and cuts until Miss Parker said, "the children were trying to defend themselves. You know how children that age bite. Some of you have kids in nursery school or in daycare."

The nurses whispered among themselves and one of them recalled an incident when the day care provider called her to say her daughter bit another playmate and she did not believe it then, but now on considering, it was probably true.

"The doctor will see you now," she said and led them into the examining room where the pediatrician on duty checked each child over careful, shining a light in their eyes to test for their reaction, using a small rubber hammer to see the speed of their reflexes, and asking them simple questions. The tests came up positive. They were normal five year olds and two year olds (or so it seemed to them and neither, Miss Parker and Jarod were going to tell them their real ages.).

It did not matter that Miss Parker and Jarod told them their marriage date. Couples often lived together, according to him, for some years, before tying the knot.

He said, "Count yourself lucky. It's a miracle the younguns survived." The doctor was one of those unsophisticated country types that Jarod was usually around on his runs and who usually started to talking to the Three Sto— Miss Parker and Company about "Jarod would just stare at the TV set for hours at a time" or other such nonsense. "The knife must've slipped. Anyway, they're young and kids that age heal quickly. I remember—"

"We'd like a second opinion," said Jarod who looked sideways at Miss Parker who was reaching down to take off one of her high heels. .

"And we'd like to see Dr. Grayne," said John and told the parents, "He's one of us."

"Well Dr. Grayne doesn't handle that sort of thing. He's a neurosurgeon."

"Or perhaps a Dr. Colby. He's an obstetrician and he could help," said Jarod.

The doctor's eyes widened as he pointed his right index finger in the air. "Ah so he's your children's doctor. Just a minute, I'll see if he's in."

Jarod did not want to correct him.

Ten minutes later, Cox rushed in, having heard most of the story. "Mrs. Angela," he said, looking at his watch, "You missed your appointment yesterday."

"The flight was late. We didn't get in until this morning and we were just about to call you when —they tried to kill the kids."

"Some crazy woman. Luckily two of the police were there," said the main doctor, "The Angelas figured since you're their doctor, but I don't understand, you've only been here less than a month."

"We knew one another back East," said Jarod.

"Ah so you looked him up and he agreed. I already examined the kids, Colby, what more can you do?"

"I'll have to see if there's is a slightest case of brain damage and for that, I'll need an expert in that field."

Dr. Grayne took all the children in, closed the door, and did various tests to determine their mental capacity. He did not permit the parents to come in, since the woman would not understand. Meanwhile, Miss Parker and Jarod paced or sat in the waiting room, while John got on his cell phone, trying to find a way to Los Angeles and his sister washed off her makeup since the torture scene would have to be done later.

"If the children are harmed in any way," said Jarod, "I'll make sure they pay." He glared at Sam who just stood there, not saying a word and probably thought, _he looks strong enough to have taken on Raines and Mr. Parker single-handed, so why didn't he_? Of course, Jarod knew the reason. Raines made sure there were plenty of sweepers around him and Mr. Parker had been guarded in the Tower.

John and Anna were not cordial towards Sam either. However, their reasons, especially John's was not because of Sam being a Centre Sweeper, but Sam just happened to mention on the drive to the hospital, that he went to work for Miss Parker after he left the Army and part of John's cover as a chameleon was to join the Air force. The photographer considered the Army just cleaned up things after the Air Force finished bombing out the opposition.

"I wonder what branch of the service Lambourni belongs to?" asked Miss Parker, "I presume the Air Force like your father."

"I checked his records. He's a Navy pilot, Top Gun. I found out that when I investigated that cop he's friends with. He was in the Navy as well, but quit to join the force, Miss Parker. Usually when you join a particular branch of the service, you enter an exclusive club. The Air Force does things a bit different then the Navy, the Navy than the Marines. Although I heard once that one of John's brothers or sisters did marry into a Navy family."

"That would cause a lot of problems," said Miss Parker.

Jarod sat down, feeling rather low, and probably being very lonely which, considering how the Centre had raised him, was only natural. You did not come from being isolated most of your life with just one person in charge of you, a person who told you that he would take care of you, but you definitely was not his son. And if an organization made you feel your only purpose was to serve them, even without saying anything, you were more inclined to help people than having the proper balance.

"So what's wrong with you, Jarod?"

"What do you think?"

"You do know the situation. As soon as we get back, I'll arrange it so your father and your sister come to see us. However, it appears your kind have a very strict sense of social behavior and your father did not have that mark on him. It might have been developed later."

"Probably they tattooed them and tattoos can be removed or perhaps they felt the Neogeneis would be enough." He was starting to feel a little better, knowing that he would see his father, Major Charles and possibly the clone that it appeared everyone called Gemini or Gem for short. "Gemini should have a name."

"By the time Gemini was created, my mother had helped the others escape so being only one Pretender supposedly, the Centre thought naming him would be irrelevant. But," she thought for a moment, "that doesn't explain Gino, Giuseppe, Mark, and the others.

"Well," said Jarod with a smile, "the Centre had to keep their visitors from knowing that they did not get a wage or salary and I don't think Gino would have liked it if Cox hollered, 'Hey you, drive me to the hospital and step on it.'"

The door opened. "Ah here's the doctor now."

"No permanent brain damage," said Grayne. "The shoe polish will come off with this." He handed a tube to Miss Parker. "And the hair will grow out."

Patricia did look a little funny

They left the hospital and went to the police station where they made their report. It was a good thing that Sam was a witness and it was a good thing that John and Anna kept a close eye on him so he told the truth.

"Lady M or Margaret that's what we call her," he said as the desk sergeant filled out the report.

"Her full name please."

"I don't know."

"It's probably in her purse," said Jarod pointing to it.

A policewoman picked it up and taking out the driver's license handed it to the sergeant who filled in the information and then called in the detectives who separated each one of them so they would not try to alibi each other.

"You realize," said Jarod, "that Sam's going to lie."

"I don't know that. Besides I will tell the truth. I doubt that Sam would tell about the Centre without implicating himself."

"In here Ma'am," said a detective and took Miss Parker in another room.

Jarod got up from his seat, and went over to the woman who was looking after the children. She made a motion to tell him to get back, but he refused.

"Daddy," said Patricia and the others started fussing. Jeremiah was yelling at the woman, calling her a child stealer. .

Jarod grabbed them from her arms and said, "Don't you dare take them to Protective Services."

The woman went over to the desk sergeant who told her that Detective Andrews was still questioning their mother and "We have to put them somewhere."

"It's your own fault," he said, "thinking every child is in trouble." He bent down and said to the children. "How'd you like to go with Officer Smith and Officer Valquez?. They'll bring you back after the nice Detectives talk to your Daddy."

Office Smith was a pleasant looking woman with rather mousy hair and a nice smile while Office Valquez looked as if she would not take any nonsense. The children studied her, studied Smith, and probably figured that they had better be careful.

"I don't want any running off, no breaking things, no hiding. There are very bad people in here and they hate little children. Understand?"

Five little faces nodded severely and followed them to the room where they kept toys and books to keep little visitors occupied.

Five minutes later, a Detective led Jarod to one room and heard his story.

"I was just coming back from the Theater Company where I met some acquaintances. I started to go past this house, Dr. Colby's, although I did not know it at the time. I recognized a young woman, his wife, someone I knew back in Delaware."

"Go on."

He told how he talked to Dr. Colby, how when he left, someone threw something on the porch, and the police mistook him for the culprit. He told how he rushed in just in time to see Patricia on the floor. The detective listened, and as the other detectives did with the others, tried to trip him up, getting him to say the story again.

"All right what story do you want me to say and don't say the truth, because that is exactly what happened. I'm not going to lie to you and say that I shoved Lady M against my own children so that she took something, a hat pin and attacked them by mistake." Jarod got up from his chair, went over to the locked door. It was easy for a Dominant to break the lock inside and that is what he did.

No one believed the detective that this man broke the door, stating that it needed repairs and the locks were defective.

The chief of detectives came to Jarod's interrogator and after talking for a while, said, "You're free to go except you." He pointed to Sam. "I don't want any more opinions. I want the facts."

An hour later, they were on their way. "I told you he'd lie," said Jarod.

Miss Parker nodded and went over to Sam, giving him the goods on the change of the Centre, telling him that Jarod was no longer a problem. The Centre had made a mistake in keeping him isolated after he became a teenager, and that the Centre wasted thousands of dollars (or did she say one hundred thousands of dollars) grabbing those children when they could have produced their own Pretenders. In other words, he would not have tried to escape (which was a lie, but she did not tell Sam that.)

Jarod assumed she kept the part about the destroyed embryos a secret. _No! She's going to tell him._

Sam did not say a word, but got into the driver's seat. "Where to?"

"The airport," said Miss Parker, "we've got to get to Los Angeles. Adrian stop fighting with your brother!"

"Okay."

It looked like it was going to be a long drive.


	30. Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

The computer show had been a success. Of course, with the sign up in front of them, no one recognized Lambourni and Broots, besides the camera did not dwell on them too much. Much of it was on the host of the show and the other geeks who were explaining the registry edit, showing various hardware, or answering questions.

"I liked that interview," said Lambourni, "although it was on a screen."

"Too bad Debbie did not want to go. So what did Miss Parker want you for?"

Lambourni got in his car and fastened his seatbelt. "We have to go to Los Angeles. Something about a Regetta. Oh there's a law in this city about using a cell phone while driving." He handed it to Broots. "Ethan's number is the first one registered and I think the sixth belongs to MacLean. She told me to give them the message as well."

"I thought Ethan was supposed to look after the children."

"Mine although my daughter and son-in-law are there as well. Looking at the boats." He waited until Broots got a connection.

"Yes, Los Angeles." Broots stammered as he gave Miss Parker's half brother the information. "Ye-yes that man that Jarod was after — Arrested, no, you know of a Sam? Sam the Sweeper's driving them to the airport—Miss Parker explained everything. Your half brother's not in any danger. — a couple of hours," He then called MacLean, telling him when they were to be at the airport. By the time, he disconnected, Lambourni had taken off, not giving him much time to put on his seatbelt.

"What's this about Sam being a Sweeper?" he asked maliciously.

"Oh he works for Miss Parker. He went home, a sick aunt,"

"A sick aunt if I can believe that," said the lawyer, swerving to avoid hitting a schoolgirl in her uniform. "Just wanted to escape our wrath."

"The Centre fed Sam the same line they fed Miss Parker, Sydney, and me that Jarod was vital to the Centre and by running away, he was stealing information. Besides Sam is really nice."

"Oh sure." He drove a little faster, going over the speed limit.

"Can't you slow down? You're a lawyer after all."

"Yes a very angry lawyer. When Miss Parker gave the order to kill Jarod — the Centre had the place bugged and I found them — before she went to that accursed island, was he eager to do it?"

Broots shook his head. "He figured that if Jarod shot at him or attacked him, he'd shoot, but otherwise he'd just wound him. Sam told me he didn't like killing anyone but if he did not, they'd kill them and his family. He has relatives you know."

"And you believe that Jonathan? If the Centre had given him the order to kill, he would have obeyed. Family or no family"

"But Antonio, he's Jewish. All the Centre had to do is find those with the same last name and kill them as well as their wives. At least they used to. They ha-had Sydney's brother killed and they went after his son, but he's a teacher so he's too important. They'd have t-to wipe out the whole school."

Lambourni nodded half-heartedly. . The trees were now thinning out and the breeze was becoming warmer but with a salty air. They had to turn off the highway and go down an off road, past a service station, and a housing division until they came to a restaurant. Once at the restaurant, they would turn left and then continue for a mile or so and then they would see the airport.

The lawyer filled up the car, made a notation in his book, and bought a package of Dad's cookies, Almond Roca, Tacos, some oranges, and cheese flavored crispies.

"We'll have them on the plane."

They ordered a light lunch "to go" at the restaurant, and took turns one eating and the other driving. Broots felt it was not necessary since they were almost there, but he figured that Lambourni needed all his energy for doing things like jumping four stories to a concrete sidewalk without hurting himself, hide in a closet, or touch a door and have it fall down.

When they arrived at the airport, the mechanics were already refueling both planes. Jarod and Miss Parker were there with Debbie and children who seemed relatively well behaved. Constance and her husband were just getting out of the car that Ethan had driven over to the rental pickup stand.

As for the notorious Sam the Sweeper, he was already at the rental counter, filling out several forms, and waiting for the receipts and did not jump when Lambourni came behind him.

"Where's MacLean?" he asked.

Sam turned around. "You mean the reporter? He should be here soon, something about the housing situation and building it too close to the shore."

"Earthquakes. I guess we never met."

"I heard of you. You're the lawyer who took the other sweeper up to the roof of the Centre and threatened to drop him to the ground below."

Lambourni nodded. "Yes. I should have, but they acceded before I did."

"You're the first one who tried that," said Sam, putting the change in his pocket, "but what if they killed your kids?"

"They would not succeed. We survive because we fight. You don't understand, do you?"

Sam told him about when Jarod first escaped, how the Centre sent not only Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots after the Pretender, but also Raines sent along his sweepers and Mr. Parker sent his. At first he thought they were back up, but he soon learned that Raines never intended Jarod to live, while Mr. Parker wanted Jarod back down below doing simulations. Miss Parker was very angry, but Sam remembered Mr. Parker saying that Jarod was just a lab rat, and he had no feelings at all until she hated the Pretender. It was a gradual process, taking many years, as Mr. Parker made sure that neither would meet, until she thoroughly despised him. When they did, Miss Parker would either kill him, or beat him into submission. And Mr. Parker's sweepers were there to make sure to snatch Jarod from Miss Parker and lock him back below before she even had a chance to mete out her wrath or change her mind..

"I wonder what would have happened if Jarod just agreed to go back to the Centre."

"Then we'd not be here. Miss Parker would be in Oregon and Jarod in the Centre."

"You don't believe it and neither do I. Miss Parker will be in the Tower, and Jarod below. And when he died, you would willingly go and grab another or Raines make a duplicate Jarod. Think of what will happen in the future, no more geniuses, no more people telling their children to study to be a brain surgeon or be excellent at everything. The Centre would have been after them. Of course, they would mistakenly use Sapiens with AB negative blood, because Raines and Mr. Parker thought only people with AB negative, Pretenders. However all us Homo Dominants can do the Pretenders and most of us have A, and O blood negative and positive. Oh there are a few with Bs as well. Too bad for you."

They started to walk to the planes, Lambourni noticing that Sam, for all his coolness, was perspiring a little bit.

Fortunately, MacLean drove up and asked what was going on.

"You just stopped a fight," said Ethan who was carrying the bags aboard Lambourni's plane. He started to count. "We could divide them up equally."

"Oh Lambourni's that bad, huh?"

"He hasn't done any of those loops — yet."

At this moment, Miss Parker told everyone to get on the plane, getting a rather angry rebuff from her son, Antonio. "All right, you do it."

"All aboard. I'm the pilot and Jarod will be the co-pilot." He smiled evilly at Broots with a little "Heh-heh-heh-heh!"

"Oh no," said the computer geek, "he's going to those loops he did when he was Top Gun."

"Don't be silly, Broots," said Miss Parker and pushed him in front of her into the plane.


	31. Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

As soon as the Marshall's office heard that Dr. Cox had been compromised, they prepared to relocate them.

"Look Doctor," said the Marshall, "I know that you said you did not expect them, but even if they were to keep your presence secret, somehow someone will slip something and we'll be back to where we were when you volunteered for this program."

Dr. Cox took a quick look around at the restaurant. They were in a booth to the back, away from the usual crowd, but he did not want anyone to be nosing around. Liza and the children were enjoying their meal, not caring about anything except finishing without leaving a mess. As for Gino, he was talking to Marcia, or rather arguing with her.

"Marcia wants to see the children," he said.

"The children are old enough to care for themselves and why does she want to go back to that place?"

"Because it's changed," she said.

"There's still those two sweepers that remain of the old Centre hierarchy. The others are either dead, in prison, or turned informants as well as switched their loyalty to the New Centre after the CIA questioned them as to their involvement in the pursuit of Jarod, and the treatment of the other prisoners. We had to use the CIA, because Blue Cove is not on Official United States Territory. What were the names of those two sweepers, Cox?' asked the Marshall.

"Willie, although I think his real name is Willard, and Sam who works for Miss Parker. He's a Sweeper, well they both are," said Cox.

The Marshall leaned back in his seat. "So they sent Sweepers out to recapture this Jarod who is not a criminal, but has something in his genetic structure that can make him mimic any occupation, even accents."

"He's not that good at talking unless he gets angry. He only had Sidney to speak to, so most of the time as a child, he was quiet unless he asked a question. If you compare him to his son, Antonio who the Lambournis adopted and raised from infancy, you can see a great difference."

The Marshall wrote something in his notebook. "Antonio Lambourni, not a very important ambulance chaser, but he was successful. He got some rather unsavory characters out of a jam, I believe, a building code violation as well as other stuff. I'd hate to see him as a defense attorney, then we'd have criminals roaming the streets. Threatened a certain Gar with death, who was already dead. This means this Antonio is one of those," he looked through his notebook, "yes, 'Homo Dominants, possibly ah yes.A progeny. It says it was because his four babies were left in his house alone. And yet it says he has others."

"The others were at school. I guess their relatives took them in."

"No case worker?"

Cox shook his head. "Lambourni was a widower, but he's remarried now. He knew how to bring up his children. He had a photo of his old neighborhood. They got someone to prevent his daughter from coming home and now that the three male heads of the Centre are dead, he's decided to form a partnership with Miss Parker. Something in their nature does not accept female bosses."

"You seem to know quite a bit about this man. So he kept his criminal connections separate from his home life. I heard of that, I believe Al Capone had a brother who was a sheriff. It does happen." He put another lead in his mechanical pencil. "And they saw crime is inherited. Hah!" He waited.

"I don't want to move somewhere else .I've established a good practice, have a steady clientele, but I would like to go back to Delaware occasionally."

"I'm sorry that would be unwise, but if you tell us a bit more about this Jarod and Miss Parker, I might reconsider getting you to move."

Cox with reluctance told him as much as he knew in such a way as not to give the Marshall the wrong impression. The Centre had taken Jarod from his parents and the boy believed they died until he learned the truth in the last few years. He worked for the Centre doing simulations of certain events the Centre sold to others. When the Marshall asked about his salary, Cox kept a discreet silence.

"Or maybe he never got paid."

"I believe because the Centre took care of him, he was indebted to them."

The Marshall cut him short. "I understand what you mean, Doctor. The Centre really owned him. I hope now that Miss Parker and that Lambourni is in charge, things will change but I doubt it. We'll probably have to bankrupt the Department of Vital Statistics, making new birth and marriage certificates." He got up to leave. "You will notify me when you do leave to Delaware so that we can make sure you and your family is properly guarded. I will give you a booklet with a list of names and dates." He took it out of his pocket. "If you are unable to meet these connections, phone me at the number on the front inside cover."


	32. Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

Miss Parker and company did not want Dead Beat to get suspicious so they decided to mingle with the Terra Firma Movie Company. She, Jarod, Ethan, Constance, her husband and the children went on board the yacht where the heroine was supposed to be tortured. The villain acted as all action adventure villains acted, that is, he gloated, and made speeches insulting America. Right now, he was bad mouthing American men, saying that they were responsible for the rape of several innocent Vietnamese women. That these particular women were B girls, he kept out of his rant. And since this was an action adventure B movie, the producer did not have to worry about political correctness. The ones who would see this just wanted to see the hero humiliate the villains.

Broots, Lambourni, Debbie, and Sam were on the hero's boat along with MacLean.. Lambourni could keep an eye on Sam and besides MacLean wanted to do an interview from the hero's point of view.

They would make the Dead Beat think that they were the ones after him which is why Lambourni wore what he considered as law enforcement undercover suit, navy pants and white shirt. Broots also gave up his usual colorful gear and did the appropriate frown. He was not as good an actor as Antonio who browbeat the crew to get their help. If he were not a Dominant, he would have failed. This crew could have won the World Wrestling Federation and the best looking hunks in America hands down.

On Miss Parker's ship, there were several extras, pretending to be Cubans, or Russians with a few left leaning Americans among them. The other villain was watching the stage hands construct the devices of pain, which included a replica of a battery charger, smoke, handcuffs, pinchers, etc. Miss Sedona was getting her makeup applied, as well as the fake cigarette burns and since this show would be restricted, one of her torturers would rip off her bra strap, exposing her breast, a common cheap Action Adventure tactic and as usual the heroine would spit in the face of the villain, causing him to slap her across the face and use electric cattle prods to get her to talk. Yes, Miss Parker knew all the tricks. She had seen Lyle watch these shows over and over again. Well Jarod did too, but at least, he did not slather and drool!

The producer came over to her, telling Miss Parker that they needed someone to fill in for the maid for the villain Chang Liu's evil girlfriend and someone to be one of the deck hands who would stand on guard before the hero slit his throat. However, when he suggested that Jarod and Miss Parker become extras on the set, Jarod balked at something so temporary.

"It won't work. When Dead Beat's yacht passes, I cannot be waving at the villain or be the crew member whom the hero sends me to my death, Miss Parker." He checked his pockets which were empty. "What happened to my weapon?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have one. You were quite good at grabbing mine out of my hand."

"Read the book. It says that all Dominants are allowed a weapon. One gun or revolver along with the appropriate ammunition just in case the dead beat brings out a machine gun and starts blasting away. I'm quite fast, but machine guns have a wide berth."

She started browsing again. "With all the revisions, this book'll be too heavy to carry. Ah yes, hmm it does put us in a bad light. Quote: 'We must defend ourselves against the humans who want this whole planet under their dominance. Every member of the New Species, hereto known as homo dominants or Dominants for short, will be given a weapon of sufficient firing power to cause injury or death to the victim.' At least they got that right. Oh I can have two. Wow! You can have one, but it doesn't say what kind."

"A revolver will do or maybe an AKA 747." He was smiling. "I suppose one of your guns will be those dainty little things that ladies have on those old Western movies."

"I still have the one that the Centre gave me and I purchased another. Oh it says the Council supplies the weapons.

He started to look around. "I'll talk to John, but don't know how he could have taken it without me knowing."

Miss Parker doubted that Jarod would make much headway with John who was sort of aloof, much like she had been when she and Jarod were children. "I heard they can mesmerize anyone. I'll find that photographer. He's got to be on this ship someplace." She left Jarod who was still estimating the distance needed to leap on Deadbeat's ship, the _Doris Day_ (which she knew was not the name it was known back in San Pedro.) without getting too much soaked.

Going down in her cabin, she checked through the entrees to find out if any had been recently painted or renamed. The proprietors of the regatta could tell if this had been done. They used ultra violet equipment to see if anyone had tried to put in a former disqualified entry. One of the methods was to repaint the old boat a new color and give it a new name, that along with changing the flag, putting in new furniture, etc. The DEA and the FBI knew it which is why they were disqualified as was anyone with a criminal background. Well they failed at that when Dead Beat joined the Regetta.

John was photographing a scene where the notorious Chang Liu, as played by Lim Wong, lately of Hong Kong, was having a dinner scene with his mistress Lama, as played by Susan Chow, also formerly from Hong Kong. She had on bright red lipstick, slicked black hair and wore a black leather teddy with metal studs at strategic places.

Miss Parker found the whole scene cheap and distasteful especially the part where Lama referred to her whip as Diana and broke a fabulous Ming vase with it and Chang Liu, who was normally immune to sensitivity, referred to Lama with "My pearl."

The director yelled cut and print and then told John that someone was here to see him.

"What is it, Lady Angela?" he asked, while putting a fresh cartridge in the camcorder.

"It's about Jarod. His gun is missing."

"Well technically it's not his. If you bought it, I will repay you."

"It used to belong to the Centre and since I'm in charge, I own it, so if you took it, hand it over."

John smiled, not a pleasant one and went into his quarters, returning with the weapon. "I made a few minor improvements, increased the kill distance. These magazines are from the Council. I'll send more over when necessary. Oh and Dominants don't beg. We'll know."

"Oh when he starts to break someone's neck instead of shooting him." She left the photographer and went back on deck. The other ships were closing in, including the one that Lambourni was on and John was now on deck, getting his camera ready to photograph the yachts as they went by. It was mainly for local color to make it look as if they were actually in the race. The other main bad guy, Carlos Guiverra, was at the helm holding the lovely heroine now in a striped tee shirt and pedal pushers and probably saying, "If your boyfriend tries anything, you'll be the first to die."

Jarod was now getting ready to jump, for the _Doris Day_ was closing in, pursued by the hero's boat.


	33. Chapter 33

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Aboard the _Doris Day_, Arthur Wyneth played the experienced and sophisticated captain with his blue blazer and the gold metal button along with his white cap. His crew worked while he lounged. The yacht they assumed the coast guard, the FBI and what ever law enforcement agencies were on was closing in on them and of course, it. Unlike their boss who only had to fear the law back in the East, these three had several local charges against them. Someone must have ratted on them and they were having dark thoughts about their boss at the moment.

"Jennie, could you move the sail that way?"

"Why?"

"It's blocking the sun. I want to get a tan."

"Impossible. With your white skin, you're more likely to get skin cancer," she snapped in the manner of one who never had that problem being one of those gorgeous blondes who darkened gradually without burning.

"Besides you're covered up too much. Who do you think you are the millionaire on _Gilligan's Island_?" retorted Ben.

"Will you quit yammering?" asked the other crew member, "That police yacht's almost upon us!"

Wyneth arose from his chair and walked over to Port side. He could see the yacht in the distance, and the man on the deck was definitely FBI by his suit. For some reason, he reminded Arthur of that cameraman. He always envied people like that, those who could look neat and sophisticated in store bought clothes, not like him. He could wear the best Brooks Brothers outfit and still appear as if he never left the Hills.

The yacht containing the bad guys of the Terra Firma shoot passed along the Stern of the _Doris Day_. No one took much notice. They were still watching the other yacht close in when Ben dropped what he was doing and he started to shake. "What was that?"

"Have you gone crazy? It's probably some seagull taking a suicide dive."

"Suicide dive? That was no damn bird. Someone's on board."

"Nonsense," yawned Wyneth, "no one could jump that far and I didn't hear a splash."

"Neither did I, but I heard what sounded like running shoes."

Arthur yawned. "Well you'd better check the deck for dead fish falling from the sky or other phenonema."

Jennie laughed. "You sound like my grandfather, the UFO nut"

"You mean the one they had locked up in the loonie bin? The one who put aluminum around his head so the rays would not penetrate his skull?" asked her brother.

"Did you think I was talking about Grandpa Jake?"

"Could be. He never could keep his pants on and remember when he peed on the living room rug?"

Wyneth was disgusted at this little piece of domestic intelligence. At least, his grandpa had gone outside to the barn to do his business. Of course, by then he was wandering about, talking like a two year old, and Arthur had the distasteful job of watching him so he would not knock over the still. That was not a job for a ten year boy who would rather play cards and take pennies from younger kids.

He went back to his chair, only getting up and pretending to steer the yacht when it appeared that another yacht was closing in. The Doris Day was now in the midst of several other yachts, all crowding in on it, causing him to steer past that movie yacht where that photographer was filming the leading lady having a cat fight with this overly endowed slut in the made for bondage outfit.

Arthur leaned back right into the barrel of a gun that pressed into his ribcage. He gradually turned around, seeing a tall man in either his late thirties or early forties, with long hair passed his shoulders, wearing a shirt, pants, and running shoes.

"Well Mr. Dead Beat," said Jarod, "you've finally run out of places to hide or should I use another cliché?"

"And you're all alone. Ben, Nick, go get him!"

They rushed at the interloper, but Jarod quickly evaded them. It was as though he knew their every move. Ben raised a club, and the Pretender lashed out with his hand, the force breaking it in two, as Ben screamed in pain as his fingers snapped in two.

Leaving his place, Nick and then Jennie rushed at Jarod while Arthur made a beeline to the lifeboat, only to be stopped by a chair thrown against his back.

By the time, the Movie and the "Police" yacht surrounded the _Doris Day_, he had them all bounded and gagged, Dominant style with the duct tape over their mouths.

"That was not necessary," said Miss Parker.

"That was the natural thing to do," said Jarod.


	34. Chapter 34

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

The FBI took charge of the Dead Beat, Waldo Robert E Lee Crowther, from Jarod. He and Miss Parker took the reward, and she, of course, pocketed it.

The movie producer offered them a DVD copy of the movie, when it reached the shelves which would be a few months after the theatrical release. After all, it was an action adventure movie, and only B in quality at that. John and Anna promised to visit Lady Angela and Jarod in Delaware and see what progress had been made since the deaths of the other Parkers

The planes landed back in Blue Cove, and everything seemed to get back to normal, at least for some of them. Broots who still had his nose in computers and discs, now constructing computers at home for kids half out of high school and overweight boys who would rather shoot down dragons then play football outside.

Of course, Lambourni having a charmed life, ran into a friend of his adopted father's who offered him the part in an Italian movie about this opera singer who died fighting the Nazis. Fortunately or unfortunately, Lambourni had an excellent voice, which he inherited from one of his ancestors. How it missed in Jarod's and Miss Parker's case was anyone's guess. These things happened. Jarod, having not been allowed to speak much as a boy, never sang after he constructed that model and she was too busy for such frivolities. Any way, Miss Parker had him do a search to find out if a famous chanteuse was one of the passengers on the Lost Ships, but since they had lost the records and since the passengers had probably taken on new names, she could not tell.

She did recall her mother tell that her grandmother once sang Ava Maria one Christmas, but Miss Parker figured this was just a fairy tale. She knew little from the maternal side of her family. And one of the passengers on the Lost Ships had either a mother or aunt who was Brunhilde in Wagner's opera, complete with horned helmet and breastplate. Her picture bore a striking resemblance to Jarod's mother

A week later, they had to go for the sentencing. They left the children in Francesco's charge, him being an older brother of Geraldo, and were off. Among the Dominants, when children reached a certain age, an older juvenile male gave them instruction in simple weapons. Francesco's mate would do the nurturing, which even Dominant children needed.

Jarod and Miss Parker flew in, rented a car, and had just entered the courtroom as the girl's mother with her daughter (in a wheelchair) told how her late husband had abandoned them, how her little girl had grown progressively worse. Even the brother, sisters, and the father of the Deadbeat, testified to the wasteful nature of their brother and they did look thin and worn as if the hard work in the hills permanently wiped all joy from their lives.

After the judge handed down the sentence and at the civil trial, when another judge handed down a financial settlement, Jarod, now a full fledged Dominant, did not do his usual thing of going to the hospital and visiting the little girl personally. Miss Parker decided to see her with Jarod and the children along. There were Medicals among the staff and it was a good excuse to have the youngsters looked at.

"Healthy in the prime state of our species," was the reply from a female Medical at which Miss Parker asked if she could go to the restroom, and deliberately took the wrong way. Jarod followed.

By the time security found them, they had looked at the little girl, Miss Parker made an excuse. "I'm looking for Room 312."

"This is Room 317. Down the hall to the left."

So both Jarod and Miss Parker visited this Room 317 which held another critically ill child and Jarod pretended he was a visiting physician interested in this case.

"Yes Doctor Graham. I know that in Edinburgh they made progress, but that method is still experimental."

"Still it ha' held great success," said Jarod with his perfect imitation of a Scottish accent, "and it would make the wee bairn more comfortable." He wrote something on a notepad knowing that the Medical in the hospital pharmacy would catch this and make the proper corrections.

"We have to get back to Blue Cove," said Miss Parker.

"Why?"

"I have something to do," She walked ahead, like a queen, expecting Jarod to follow as he did, carrying most of the suitcases, touching his gun, and daring anyone to try anything.

Jarod wondered what it was as they both got in the car, and drove down the road towards the airport. "The babies should be here soon." He steered the car, oblivious to what Miss Parker was doing and hoping that Ted, in his absence, had not terrorized the lower Dominants too much.


End file.
